Snowbound: Condor
by condorsbest
Summary: Mark, Jason and Princess go on a ski vacation together. But there's more to the Condor's presence than meets the eye.
1. Chapter 1

_I own no part of the BOTP world and give full credit to the wonderful people in this world that have brought them to us... Tatasunoko Productions, Sandy Frank (and gang) and any others that they have given their consent too. I do this solely as an expression of my appreciation to the world that they have created._

_If for any reason my world resembles that of any other writer please do not take offense. I have not read all the stories out there and in no way am trying to tear down your world. With this story I'd like to say a special thanks to the two that collaborated with me. Without the two of you I don't think it would have been done._

Chapter 1

I had just grabbed my leather coat and was about to head out of Jills place when two of my fellow comrades entered into the building. Tiny and Keyop seemed to be having some form of discussion about the up and coming week.

As they brushed past me, I caught the tail end of their conversation and it really grabbed my attention. Not wanting to sound overly interested I approached them with a casual calmness." So what your both are saying is that Mark said no. That certainly doesn't sound like him. Heck, it's a week with Princess, I figured that he would jump on it with both feet."

Keyop chirped right up with an animated broop. "Know what you mean big bro, I thought that once I said something to him, he would have no problem. Says he's too busy with work, but I left the ticket with him just in case."

Tiny, being known for his many spaceburger indulgences, seemed to find it odd that anyone should chose work over play. "That's Mark for ya, always thinking about his job. Sometimes he should just try and relax. Maybe take his mind off of his "duties" for once."

Even though I had planned a weeks full of racing for myself. I couldn't help but to want to jump upon this chance to prove something to Princess, and a week alone with her would be just the chance. So I double checked my facts with the others and then began to figure out a way to invite myself. " Did I hear the two of you correctly? Our Prin is going on a skiing trip by herself, and Mark turned down Keyop's offer to take his place? Where is Marks head at? Oh well too bad. Sounds like it might be a little lonely up on the beautiful ski slopes of Frozatica, I'm thinking that maybe she shouldn't go. Who knows what could happen to her so far away from home."

I saw Keyop's eyes wince, and I knew that I had just given him a guilty conscience. He knew that it was him that she had planned the trip with so it would also be his "fault" so to speak if something went wrong. Not wanting to leave him in despair too long but still not wanting to sound overly interested I made two more suggestions.

"Hey big guy, you could take the lady skiing and Keyop could go to the convention on his own."

Tiny seemed to turn many shades of red with that suggestion. " Ah jeez Jas, you know I would love to escort the Swan skiing and all. It's just that I'm really not that great on skis, besides I had already promised Keyop that I would go with him."

Still wanting them to come up with the idea that I wanted, I continued on with my plan. " You're forgetting one thing my big Owl, didn't our little friend the Swallow already have a previous engagement? Not that it's any of my business." I glanced over just in time to see Keyop's head shrink down a couple of inches before I continued. " I do have another suggestion for a replacement. We could see if the Chief wants to go skiing, I'm sure Princess would love his companionship."

Knowing that I had really hit a nerve with the little guy, he mumbled something about needing to use the men's room and stormed off. Tiny just watched him stalk away and said.

" I wonder what crawled up inside of him. It's not like him to act that way."

I felt as if I was circling above just waiting for the exact moment to swoop in. Finally it opened right up in front of my eyes.

" I don't know Jas, I think that Prin might get a little upset about the Chief going, but you on the other hand would be a different story."

Feeling that my plan had finally paid off, I went in for the landing. " You sure about this Tiny? I wouldn't want to upset Mark or Keyop! You know how they both feel about her."

Really at this point their feelings meant little when it came to Princess, finally I was going to get my chance to show her just what kind of a gentleman I can be.

Tiny gave his best reassurance, and even stated that they had both been given their own chances. He was also relieved that she wouldn't be going alone. Neither one of us were sure how we would approach Mark about getting the tickets from him so we planned the trip via the Phoenix. I told Tiny that I had money for the lifts and a room but I knew in my own mind that I planned to bunk in her room. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them one bit.

I had just opened the door to leave Jill's to pack when Keyop came back out.

" Where's he running off to, his first race?"

Tiny took a long drink from the soda that he had been guzzling down before he spoke. " Nope, Jas is going home to pack and we are dropping him off at the ski resort. So if you're about ready to go, I think we should finish packing ourselves."

He placed his drink on the counter rather loudly and turned to leave. Somehow he never noticed the look of panic and anger in Keyop's stance.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Heck, I went from having most of my time being used racing, to spending it with a very attractive teammate. Besides my thought was, if Mark wanted to waste a chance like this, I certainly was going to jump on it. Yeah I know that the beloved Swan has had a crush on the Eagle for a long time, but maybe if she could just see me in a new light, things could change. With that thought crossing through my head, I made my way back to my camper and cancelled all of my plans for the up in coming week.

With only an hour to spare before departure, I climbed out of the shower. Sopping wet I reached for my towel, and before I pulled on my skin tight jeans I glanced into the mirror.

"Well Jason old boy, hopefully this week will pan out perfectly." Little did I know of the way things really would turn out.

When I entered into the Phoenix's main control center, I couldn't miss the look that Keyop kept giving me. For some reason I had the feeling that the little guy didn't want me to be with Prin. As much as I try to understand his thoughts on it, I just can't help but to grin at him like I don't care. It was then that I distinctly heard a grumble of unrecognizable words coming from the youngest member. I chose not to comment to him, but I was going to retain the memory of it for further usage.

Tiny looked up from the controls at about the same time I thought that. "Jas, we are about up to Frozatica is there any place in particular that you want us to drop you off at in the G2?"

Starting to head to the loading dock of the G2 I just shrugged my shoulders. " Anywhere that's secluded is fine with me. Don't want to draw too much attention to myself. "

Turning to finish my exit I caught just the hint of another undertone comment." How about in the middle of the forest? Then see how well you can drive it out!"

I had finally had enough of the squirts comments. I walked back over to him and looked long and hard into his eyes. " I want to say this one thing squirt. I've heard you mumble and grumble ever since Tiny brought up the idea of bringing me here. Might I remind you that there will be times when you will have to listen to my orders and I have a very long memory. Besides it's your fault that she's on this trip by herself anyway so you should try thanking me instead or being childish."

With that being said, I turned around and headed towards the loading dock. With Tiny at the controls, the drop off went smooth. Now it was time to find the lodge and get things ready for her arrival.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When I arrived at the lodge I noticed that I had a couple of hours to spare before Princess arrived. So I found out where the room was in respect to the lobby, and then made my way down to the lounge area. Now I wouldn't normally even try to drink any alcoholic products being on the team and all. It's just that the Chief had assured us that if trouble would brew up, that we would be the last resort for the week. Then he had mumbled something about all of us needing some quality time off. Trusting him on his word, I proceeded to order me a shot of JD followed by a beer chaser. Feeling a tad bit hungry after gulping both drinks down I ordered from the menu and then sipped on my coke while checking out the scenery. There were a few couples sitting around the room. All of which seemed to be totally infatuated with the person sitting with them. My thoughts crept to a picture of Princess and myself as one of those couples. Oh how Mark chose a really bad week to fulfill his delivering duties. Oh well, his loss, not mine.

When the food arrived, I ate rather quickly. I had plans to check out the place, and to see what fun things I could convince the fearless Swan to try out. Snowboarding and snowmobiling both came to mind, along with the obvious skiing. Thank goodness money wasn't too much of a problem with me. Sometimes it pays rather well to be a top notch racecar driver like myself.

The time was getting rather near for my companion to arrive, and not wanting to waste much time on small things I paid for the snowmobiles before meeting her at the room. Next I found a public restroom and made sure that my appearance was top notch. Now I made my way back to the room to surprise the Swan.

When I rounded the far corner, I stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn't quite make out Princess' expression on her face, but her body language spoke out loud and clear. She seemed to be disappointed and let down. I assumed that she felt that way because of Mark not wanting to go. I hoped that my presence would at least put the sun back into her eyes. It's not a good thing to have a depressed Swan.

I approached her quietly and watched as she tried to unlock her door. I found myself just a little to close to her when I finally spoke. " Sure took you long enough to get here!"

I must have spooked her to the high heavens because she whipped around like I was some Spectran agent and tried to hit my throat with all of her might. Luckily, I hadn't let my guard down totally, and I caught it in the last second. It took her a few moments before she even realized that it was me that had spooked her. During that time, it was as if she only saw the color red. Finally reality sunk in and her arm loosened up in my grasp.

"Jason! What are you doing here?"

When I saw her eyes light up, my heart almost skipped a beat. I wanted so much to tell her the whole truth. That I came on this trip knowing that she was going to be alone, and so hoping that for once she would see me for the man that I am, and not the one that the tabloids make me out to be.

Also, that for once she would see just how out of touch are beloved commander could be and give me the satisfaction of showing her a good time. Then who knows maybe things would work out between us. I hadn't realized that my mind had taken such a long trip down fantasy lane, but when I looked back towards Princess her eyes still held the question that she had just asked.

Finally coming up with a logical answer I replied "I decided that a

week of skiing might be fun, and Tiny told me that you were going to be here, so I convinced him to fly me up in the Phoenix to surprise you. He said that you'd already booked a room and lift tickets for two,

since Keyop was supposed to be with you, and I didn't want them

to go to waste." I tried so hard to hide the mischievous look that played around in my eyes, but I could tell that she saw it.

"Just like you to take the free ride, but believe it or not, I'm glad that you're here. My place is yours!"

When she had made those comments I first had wanted to argue with the free ride stuff, She should know me a lot better then that, but then when she smiled, and said she was happy that I was there. My heart nearly leapt from my chest it was beating so hard. It was then that I saw her cheeks start to flush, and I knew that this was going to be a rather interesting week. One where I would have to try and watch my advances. Don't want her to go back into a cave, at least were I'm concerned.

Flustered she looked at me. "I meant."

I tried to calm her down a bit by giving her my "knowing" wink. All it seemed to do was make her blush even harder. Somehow I must learn to not be so bold around her. It was really going to take some work on my part. Hopefully a trip of snowmobiling would loosen us both up.

When we entered the room it was almost like Princess was resorting back to childhood. She seemed to have drawn an imaginary line down the center of the room. "I'll take the bed closest to the bathroom. You can take that one over there."

I couldn't help but to chuckle a little at this as I replied "Whatever you say, Prin. So what have you got planned for the rest of the afternoon?"

She seemed rather uninterested or down by my comment. Like what she had really wanted to do was ruined by my being here. "Not much. I thought I might take a nap before dinner. There's not really enough time to hit the slopes before then."

Wanting to bring her spirits back up again I couldn't help but to seem a little disappointed in the nap idea. "A nap? I can see that you are in desperate need of help. You have an urgent need for fun and I'm just the guy to help you out!"

She looked as though she was questioning my motives so I prodded her a little more "So what do you say, Prin? Shall we go have some fun?"

I held my hand out to her, hoping that she would take hold and just let me show her a good time. I kept my eyes upon her beautiful face as I saw it change from one thought to the next. If only I could read what was going on inside of her, then I would know what answers she would want. Suddenly her eyes filled with a warm and rather flirtatious smile.

Grabbing my hand as she replied, I felt the warmth and my blood began to slowly boil.

"You're on, Condor! What did you have in mind?"

I wanted to surprise her with my plans, so I tossed her ski jacket towards her and headed towards the door with her hand still in mine. "Just wait and see!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I really had wanted to surprise Princess so before I had met up with her in the room, I had paid for all of this next adventure. As we approached the snowmobile rental place I thought I had caught a glimpse of excitement in her eyes. Suiting up into the proper safety gear, we began to cruise over the snow covered paths.

After twenty minutes or so, I found myself to be getting rather bored with the marked paths, and if I knew Princess like I thought I did, I figured that she was too. Suddenly, I spotted a good place to venture into the virgin snow. As I brought the snowmobile to a complete stop, I motioned for Prin to pull up along side.

Watching her expertly pull up along side of me, I couldn't believe the natural beauty that came forth as she took her helmet off and ran her fingers through her long brown hair. The contrast of the dark brown against the almost blinding white snow gave the illusion of a warm and cozy cabin. Oh how I longed to bury my head into her hair and just feel the texture of it and the warmth of her soft skin. As I watched her cheeks turn a rosy red, it too gave the illusion of a fire that had just been lit to keep the occupants warm and safe. It took me a few moments to come to the realization that she had asked me a question. Leaving the daydream aside for a few minutes I turned my attention towards her.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Are you running out of gas?"

If she could only read my thoughts right now she would've seen that she was all the fuel I would ever need. Slowly I replied "Not at all. I just had an idea…"

"What did you have in mind?" she asked.

Suddenly, she added, "Whatever it is, I'm game."

I was slightly stunned by her quick response and willingness to want to pursue my idea. I also couldn't help the fact that it made me wonder if she would be as eager if I would ask her out. It really didn't seem possible but there may never be a better time then this week so I went forth with my game plan.

"I was thinking that it might be fun to head off of the trail." I gestured over his back with my thumb. "You know, virgin territory and all that."

"Sure…" she grinned. "This trail is kind of dull anyhow."

Suddenly she replaced her helmet, and then took off before I had a chance to even react.

Of course, me being a professional racecar driver, I would never settle for second place. So I took off after her, and I started to feel the adrenalin pump through my veins. The sheer joy of being in a race, along with spending time with someone I loved, made for an incredable feeling. Still, I knew the competitive nature in me would never allow me to take second place. In a race or in my love life. The only time that I've been stuck at second is on the team, and yes even that harbors some deep resentment that I would be ashamed to admit.

Wanting to break my train of negative thoughts on second, I turn my attention back to the task on hand.

Somehow I had to get past Princess and be in the lead. If only I could find a slightly more dangerous route I might be able to pull it off. Quickly I had to turn my snowmobile to the right to avoid a large evergreen tree that the Swan had managed to clear. She was certainly quick on the mind and her laughter at my near mishap made my heart swell even more. No "normal" female would be able to handle so much challenge and recklessness.

My heart felt as it skipped a beat when I saw her begin to skid on a patch of ice. It was almost a two person skid, had I not stopped in the nick of time. I thought that I heard her laughing and enjoying the fact that she was going out of control when I noticed something that looked like a snowbank headed towards her. I jumped off of my snowmobile and started a fast walk towards her, when I saw the hit. Only it didn't sound like it was just a snowbank. The joy that I had been feeling was working it's way out of me when I finally reached her. Throwing my helmet off, I rushed to her side.

"Princess!"

Giggling, she replied "Hi, Jason! Fancy meeting you in a place like this!"

My gut reaction was that she was hurt and possibly hurt badly. It didn't seem right that anyone should be laughing as hard as she was after a hit like that. Then I started to curse at myself for my own reckless ideas.

"Damn, I think you're in shock or something…"

Finally she stopped laughing but continued to smile as she replied, "No…I'm just having fun…"

I wanted to believe what she was telling me, so I asked again "Are you sure you're okay?"

As she removed her helmet she replied, "Yeah, everything seems to be in order." It was when she tried to sit up that her leg caused her to wince.

Seeing her wince I couldn't help but to exclaim "You're hurt! I'm so sorry, Prin… it was my dumb idea to go off trail."

"It was not a dumb idea." she retorted. "It was fun, and you would still be having fun if I hadn't been careless enough not to watch where I was going."

I so wanted to take back the last moments of the snowmobiling and have the excitement still be there,and to not see her sitting there with her leg in pain. "Well, dumb or not, you're hurt."

"It's nothing worse than what I usually sustain on a day to day basis." she replied. "In fact, it's feeling better already!"

As she bent her leg slightly to prove it, I could tell by her expression that it would take a little time for it to recover.

I knew that she should be getting really cold, sitting there on the frozen ground so I made a helpful suggestion. "All the same, we'd better go back to the lodge."

user posted image

"No… I just need to sit for a bit." Princess protested. "Besides, it's so beautiful here… I don't want to go back just yet."

For some reason it took her mentioning the beauty for me to truly appreciate it. I think the blindness to such things like this is caused by the many battles and deaths that we ourselves are responsible for. Not the battles per say but the only way to stop a force such as Spectra is to stop it dead in it's tracks. Suddenly I remembered that I was here upon this wonderful mountain with a very beautiful woman and my attention went back to her and the beauty around us.

The snow had begun to lightly fall, and the trees created a green canopy above our heads. And now that our snowmobiles were off, it was quiet.

It was as if we were the only two people in the world.

Taken by surprise I felt Princess warm hand in mine.

"Just stay here with me, Jason. Just for a minute." she pleaded.

I almost questioned the look that I saw in her eyes, it was almost as if she and I were meant to be together on this trip. I so wanted to tell her all of the thoughts that have been going through my mind but I was slightly afraid of finding out the truth. With that I mean that she was so into Mark that someone like me could never stand a chance. Still I didn't want this magical moment to end so I agreed.

"All right. As long as you're not too cold."

With a look that could melt even the hardest of hearts she replied softly "Just a little."

Trying to hide my blushing cheeks I grinned as I sat down next to her "Whatever am I going to do with you, Princess?" and put my arm around her. It was much warmer sharing our body heat and I so enjoyed the closeness of her body.

"Thanks for coming here, Jason." she said as she put her head on my shoulder. "I really appreciate that you were willing to keep me company this week."

I had to stop myself from saying the obvious. That any sane person would not turn down a chance like this to spend it with someone as beautiful as her. The fact that Mark had turned it down only made me want to question his roll in the team even more. I mean it really wasn't a hard choice to make. Spend time with a bunch of grease monkeys at the track or with someone that could turn your world around in a split second. Still I felt the need to joke with her in my reply. "It was hardly a difficult decision. It was either skiing with you, or hanging out with Zark… hmmm… you may have a point there…"

In a quick second I felt what appeared to be a mock punch into my chest "Tease!"

Something in the way that she cried tease made me want to show her just how I felt. Like taking her into my arms and climbing aboard the snowmobile and riding into the sunset. Possibly like in an old western movie, where the two of us could become one. "You're right.You're much better company than Zark."

Somehow it felt like there was a connection. One that would seem to be very hard to break and so intense that it even felt like there was static electricity.

Maybe there was because in the moment that I was going to open my mouth and spill all of my innermost thoughts to the beauty in front of me a huge pile of snow suddenly slid off of a branch above us and landed on our heads? In an instant we were shivering and shaking wet snow off of our heads.

"Okay… I think that's our signal to go." She laughed as she flexed her leg. It seemed to be feeling much better.

Wanting to double check how she felt I asked "Can you drive back to the lodge?"

Standing up slowly she answered "Yeah… I should be fine."

This time we both went slowly.I made sure to follow to make sure that there were no further mishaps. Also at this pace it was a very nice view from back here. Watching the ends of her hair whip around in the wind made me wonder how it would feel to run my hands through it.

When we returned the snowmobiles and helmets I turned to make sure that Princess didn't need any help. What I wasn't prepared for was the interesting hair piece that mother nature had givin to her to wear. It was so amusing that I couldn't help but to laugh uncontrollably.

"What?" Then acting a little peeved she looked at me with her hands on her hips and demanded "What, pray tell, is so funny?"

I couldn't stop laughing it was so funny. All I could find the strength to do was point at her head and continue to laugh.

Cautiously, she reached up and felt something strange. As she pulled it down, she realized that it was a bunch of wet leaves.

When she began to giggle, it only fueled my laughter even more.

Gasping for air in between the burst of laughter I managed to speak out. "I didn't realize that Swans built nests out of leaves! The things I learn, hanging out with you, Prin…"

"Hey, we're resourceful!" she replied. "We just use whatever's handy!"

We both burst into a fit of giggles again as we threw are arms around each others waist for support in our amusement. I felt that this week couldn't get any better but how wrong could I be.

We were still cracking pathetic jokes as we walked into the lodge. There, in the lobby, next to a giant fireplace, was Mark.

It was then that I wondered if she had forgotten to tell me something. Or maybe, just maybe, our commander really did have a set and realized how insane he was for turning down this chance. Glancing briefly at Princess I looked to find my answer. Then it dawned on me. Any way you look at it, I was here and I was the one rooming with her. So maybe for once, Mark could take second chair.

Leave it to Princess to always want to smooth things over quickly. She smiled as we approached Mark. "Mark! Look who showed up! Tiny dropped him off before going to Aquatica."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

With a look that seemed to be mixed with anger and frustration Mark spoke in a very cold manner "Hello, Jason."

I had a very hard time keeping the amusement out of my tone when I spoke back to him. Why shouldn't I, I just got done spending the whole afternoon with someone special. Someone that I knew he had a major crush on, was it my fault that being second finally did have some payoffs. Plus the fact that I wouldn't allow anyone, war or no war, to be able to tell me who to date. Smiling rather smugly I replied " Hiya, Skip! Fancy meeting you here."

It was at that time that I pulled Princess' body ever so tight, and gave our commander a Cheshire cat smile. I saw his body wince in emotional pain, but for some reason I was enjoying every second of it. I think Prin saw his actions too because it was in that same moment that she managed to free herself from my grip and apologized to Mark.

"I'm sorry, Mark. I know we were going to meet for dinner. But would you mind if I ran upstairs and changed quickly?"

When she bowed her head during it all, almost like a servant, it made me want to slap some sense into Mark. The way he made her feel like it was a crime to have fun with anyone else but him was bullcrap. Heck he doesn't even seem to comprehend the word fun and I was bound to be the one to make him see it.

"Sure, Princess." Mark said. "While you're gone, Jason and I can hang out here."

The look he shot to me while he calmly answered Princess let me know that he had no intentions of just hanging out. Somehow he had managed in just a few short moments to go from being a boring date to his alter ego of Eagle. Still I could just as easily shift into Condor mode and then there would be no telling what might happen. I was ready for anything that Mark could throw at me so I decided to add a few more nails into this battle. Grinning back at him as I flopped comfortably into a chair I replied "Why not?" Then as Princess was about to exit the lobby I dropped a virtual atomic bomb on Mark.

"Hey, Prin, bring my jacket up to the room, will you?" Tossing it to her I looked over towards Mark and smiled.

We both took notice that Princess practically ran from the lobby as she mumbled "Sure."

My eyes and attention turned back to my "comrade" I knew that I had intentionally started what could be the biggest war between the two of us, but I had become very sick of his pussy footing around. Besides if he was never going to act upon his feelings for Princess then it was about time that I had my chance. As I watched Mark lean forward towards me with a look of disgust I kept all my senses on high alert.

Eyes glaring he commented "You're ROOMING together?"

I, for one, saw nothing wrong with the fact that Prin and I were sharing the same room. So I leaned back and propped my feet up on the table in front me and began my statement with an easygoing tone.

"It's no big deal, Mark. We're consenting...adults."

For a split second I saw the look that was normally held for Spectra's finest. Not even the lowly minions got that look from him. Then when started to spat as he spoke all my senses went into overdrive."I don't like it." he seemed to lean in towards me when he said that.

A part of me knew that I was traveling on thin ice where Princess was concerned, but I wasn't in the mood to back down. So I stood up to my full height to put me a couple on inches taller and assumed my own Condor mode. Giving him the look that I hold for those that I would kill in an instant. I seemed to smirk in a rather insane way."What d'ya mean, you don't like it? It's not your business!"

Mark closed what little gap there was between the two of us as he spoke with a low growl "I mean, it doesn't look good. I don't approve of the two of you sleeping together as if you were a couple or something!"

With his insinuation of the two of us as a couple my thoughts began to leave the conversation. I pictured her and I having our morning coffee and the small talk that we would have. Then it quickly jumped to the night before where small talk would play a roll but the actions would speak louder then words. He must have read into my thoughts because when I returned my attention back to him I felt the fury and pain that he was wishing my way.

Still I could not back down. "For your information, Commander, what we do off duty is none of your business! And we're all adults here! I, for one, am completely in control of my impulses. Now you have me wondering…Why are you here?"

I couldn't help but to sneer at him as I saw that I caught him a little off guard. Somehow I knew that I was pushing him to his limit.

"I'm here because…Keyop asked me to go. Princess didn't want to go alone and I'm just here to…to keep her company!" Suddenly Mark threw my question back at me. "What about you? I don't recall you having plans to go skiing…"

Not wanting him to think that he got the upper hand I took my place back in the chair and relaxed "Tiny gave me a ride. He said that Keyop was worried about Princess going skiing alone, and she needed someone to watch out for her."

"And you think you're the guy for the job?" Mark questioned my intentions.

A part of me wanted to get up and start the whole argument over again but I was rather worn out from the snowmobiling. Plus I was becoming quite famished at this time, and I knew that Princess would be down any moment. So instead I placed both hands behind my head and took a more leisure tone. "Hell, yeah. I've already been showing her a good time….and hey, it's basically a free vacation. What more could a man ask for?"

I watched as Marks body began to shake. I had begun to wonder if there was anyway that he could transform to Eagle mode without his wrist band when he started his reply back to me. "So, what...you think you're the ONLY one who can show her a good time? If you're just looking for a free vacation, Condor, why don't you just buzz off and leave us alone? Princess and I came on this trip together...and I don't want YOU to ruin it by turning on the Prince Charming act while we're off duty! And you know damn well that we're supposed to keep it professional! If you want to play Prince Charming, go find some chicks at the bar!"

With this comment I couldn't help but to grin devilishly. "Worried about a little competition where the Swan is concerned, pretty boy?"

Just as it looked as though Mark was going to throw the first punch some big fat slob came staggering towards us from the bar. His walk showed me that he was beyond liquored up and his actions were telling me that he was looking for a fight. As I was about to turn towards Mark to inquire about the drunk slob he slurred out some words.

"Hey! Remember me? Big Pete...from the bus?" He pointed his two index fingers at us like guns and clicked his tongue, pretending to shoot.

"Where's that foxy girlfriend of yours?" He hiccupped. "Can't hold on to her, I see...That's ok, she'll be joining me in my room, tonight. I think she has the hots for me."

I couldn't believe what the guy had just said. Something in the way that he spoke it made every hair on the back of my neck rise up. Just as I was about to go into total Condor mood on this jerk Marks hand blocked my attack. I knew he was as protective if not more then any of us were with Princess but I couldn't just sit by and wait. Still I watched to see what the Eagle had in mind.

When I saw him approach the guy like they were old friends I couldn't believe my eyes. This fat drunken jerk had just made some very rude comments about our Swan and he wants to be friendly. I knew after watching this that I was either going to take out my anger on Pete or Mark. Only time would tell which one.

The two turned back towards the bar and Mark was talking to him about some foxy chick. "Pete, my buddy, where have you been? I have an incredibly foxy chick to introduce you to, and I just know you two will hit it off. Her name is Patricia..."

I fumed as I went back to the fireplace. So wanting to continue this argument with a supposed comrade that embraces the enemy. Oh how that didn't set right with me.

Mark finally returned to the other seat and I was going to say a few comments about the way he handled that Pete guy when we both heard someone approaching.

The look on Marks face told me it was Princess and his loss of words told me she was hot. When he stood up and took her by the hand he begun to slowly utter his speech " Princess... you look..."

When he stumbled on just the right word to say, I took this as my opportunity to step in "You look fantastic! Just like… a princess." and I cast her a quick wink.

Mark replied rather quickly then "Yes. She does."

I could feel the steam coming off of Mark as he cast me a warning glare and when he spoke I almost had to laugh at his agreeing to my comparison. It was like I had won until I saw and heard Princess' confusion and hurt.

"I'm sorry…" she muttered, "My clothes were still wet…"

She seem to say it rather softly and I felt bad that I couldn't give her my total attention. It was just that I was in a total battle with Mark and it seemed like neither of us were going to back down. Finally Mark broke the connection and I felt like I had won in some small way, even more so when Princess included me.

Mark took Prin by the hand and spoke "Let's go grab some dinner, Princess."

Hesitantly Princess replied "But what about Jason? I'm sure he's hungry too."

"Thanks, Prin. I'd love to join you for dinner." Linking up with her free arm I couldn't help but to smirk at Mark behind her back. Suddenly I felt him pulling her closer to him. So in all fairness, I responded with my own tug. It seemed like she understood the underground tone because she quickly suggested we enter the restaurant.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The three of us made our way into the restaurant still linked together. It was times like this that I had wished that Mark wouldn't be with us. Princess has such a natural beauty about her that with the extra touches that she did, made her look extraordinaire. I rushed to her chair at the table and quickly pulled the chair out for her. I just couldn't get over her extreme beauty, and pulling out the chair was the least I could for her.

With a warm smile she said "Oh, Jase, you don't have to do that! I can take care of myself."

I felt the tension and underlying tone as Mark replied roughly "She certainly can."

I glanced over at the Swan and I noticed the look of hurt in her eyes. Not wanting to see the night end up like this I tried to be subtle in my comment to Mark. The only thing I allowed to change was my eyes, but my tone remained calm. "A beautiful lady deserves to be treated with respect."

The smile that Princess cast my way, told me that my subtly was well appreciated and I had hopes that this night would turn up in my favor.

"Thank you, Jason. That's very sweet of you to say."

Things seemed to calm down just a bit as the subject of food came to the forefront, that was until the battle of steak verses Italian food emerged.

"So… what should we order?" Princess asked as she perused the menu. "Hmmm…. how about, steak?"

I caught her subtle wink at Mark and I couldn't help but to think that it was the only reason for her to want steak. The rest of their conversation almost made me want to barf. If only I could find a way into it. I could have it all changed around.

"You know me so well, Princess." Mark exclaimed as he stared intently at her.

Watching him coo at her with his blue eyes almost put me over the top. It was with her response that I found a possible way in.

"Did it ever occur to you, that maybe steak is my favorite too?" she smiled at him, but the fact that she even told him that let me know that she wasn't just choosing it because of him.

Seeing an opening to enter this two sided conversation I spoke up. "I prefer Italian, myself. How about a nice chicken carbonara?"

I knew that I had been just an observer of this entire ordering process but I hadn't figured that it had went that far. For when I spoke up both of them seemed to nearly jump out of their skin. Finally Princess made an effort to bring me back into the conversation.

"Ummm… if I'm going to have Italian food, I think it should be spaghetti." she replied, as she mimed throwing a forkful at me.

Her comment had actually gotten even Mark to laugh. It was rather amusing and it made me think back to the days when food fights seemed to be quite common around the house. Only that one was one to live in infamy, even though we never got caught. Thanks to Keyop being in the lab. Those were the days! The mood seemed to be a little lighter at the table but I knew in my heart that it wouldn't last.

I found myself looking Princess up and down, maybe a few seconds longer then what Mark would've liked but hey that's me. Smiling I replied. "I don't think so, Prin, I think that dress of yours looks great the way it is. I wouldn't want to get any tomato sauce on it."

In retaliation she replied, "What makes you think I would get dirty? You got beaten pretty badly last time."

Feeling the need to come out the winner of this debate I added "Only because you had help."

"I have help this time!" she protested. "Mark is on my side." she turned towards the Eagle. "Aren't you, Mark?"

I felt as though I was being set up to be ambushed by a later attack as Mark grinned wide and replied "Anything to show this guy who's boss."

I saw a playful gleam enter into the Swans eyes when she spoke next. "See? You're one dead bird, Condor."

It felt good to have the three of us sitting here getting ready to order, even if the two of them tag teamed me on that last debate. So I threw my hands up in a mock surrender, like I had just been beaten in the boxing ring. "Well then, I guess I should stick with the carbonara."

The two of them had both decided to order steak, like that was any surprise, and all seemed to be going rather well. The conversation took a turn towards the next days events, and what trails we wanted to ski.

I still couldn't help, but to notice that Princess and Mark seemed to be having their own unspoken conversation. Seeing that I really didn't want to ruin the calm mood I started my own private conversation with her. I stretched my leg out a little further under the table and felt the smoothness of her hose. Slowly I began to rub my leg over her calf as I did my best to stay in the conversation. It was a little challenging but I somehow managed.

Then the perfect opportunity came up to let her know it was me, as Mark had to make his way to the restroom.

When he excused himself, I took that time to place my chin in my hand and watch her in utter amusement as she realized that it had been me rubbing her leg.

The color had seemed to drain from her face as she stuttered in her own amazement. "That… that was you?"

Wanting her to physically and verbally acknowledge what had been going on during this time I played innocent "What was me?" Still I continued the soft caresses on her calves.

"I think you know…" she said quietly.

Wondering how she could have ever have thought that Mark, our fearless leader, could be so bold, I asked her in an alarming tone and total shock "So you actually thought it was Mark? It's not really his style."

"Yes… no… I…" She seemed to be totally confused and embarrassed by the actions that I had done.

Like I had somehow crossed a line in our relationship. I continued to run my foot across her leg and even brought it up to just above the knee when she jerked it back away from me.

Next thing I knew Princess was nearly in tears and she about cried as she spoke. "That's not funny!"

Not wanting to see her in tears I felt my heart sink as I went to apologize "Hey, Prin, I didn't mean…"

She seemed to strike out like a cobra when she replied back "Just stop it! I'm not really interested in your games, Jason. I'm sorry there isn't some ditzy, little blonde here at the table to amuse you. That's more your style, isn't it?"

Even through all of her beauty her words had the same reaction that a deadly snake bite would cause. I needed to find some way to show her that a ditzy blond was never really my style. It was just that they seemed to be more plentiful at the race track, and since that's where I spent ninety percent of my free time at, that is what I usually brought home.

Really all I have ever wanted was someone with her class and style. Along with her love of life, which seems to be hard to find in our way of life. Never mind the fact that it's mostly all men.

So I tried to find the right words to say and when I did I spoke them in all seriousness "Maybe, I'm tired of ditzy, little blondes."

I waited a few seconds to see how she responded then I added with a little more humor then maybe I intended "They all turn out to be Spectrans anyhow."

I really wanted her to see that it has always been her at the top of my list, but the demons of my own past had been what kept me from reaching out. In the second that she took my hand in hers, I so wanted her to acknowledge that she knew exactly where I was coming from. Her response left me feeling a little down and I had all I could do to utter the words that I did.

"It's okay, Jase." she said softly. "There's someone out there for you. Someone who'll make you happy."

My words were barely audible "Maybe, I've already found her."

The table was extremely quiet after that as we both seemed to be in our own thoughts. I just kept praying that she had heard me and that maybe my prayers would be answered.

As we sat there still holding hands, it didn't take but a moment to realize that we were being glared at and it wasn't from the waiter. Suddenly his angry tone broke the silence that had been so pristine just a few moments ago.

"What is going on here?" he asked.

His tone had caused Princess to jump like she had just been ordered to jump off a cliff. The look on her face spoke in much the same language,and knowing her loyalty to Mark I think she would of done it.

She pulled her body even further from me, and I couldn't help but to change into my own battle mode. So essentially she was now with the Eagle and Condor. Only thing lacking was our uniforms.

"M… Mark…" she stuttered, "It's not what it looks like…"

"And what does it look like?" He asked. Glaring at her as if she was Spectran goon and I became outraged as I saw her tremble in fear.

It only took a second of my movement before his attention was fully directed at me and I went for it full steam. "Give her a break, man!" I shouted. "We were just talking!"

His jaw seemed to clench as again I wondered if he could transform without his communicator. It was almost as if I could feel the rage bursting forth from deep inside. Still I wasn't about to back down and let him intimidate Princess, not that she couldn't defend herself, but for some reason she was in an ultra sensitive mood. One that seemed to put her out of battle mode, and Mark appeared to be in it full circle.

Moving in closer, he tried to cause me to back down. Something that I would never do, even if it meant certain death. As he stepped in even closer I could feel the heat from his breath upon my face. He seemed to growl again as he responded to my explanation.

"You seem pretty defensive for a guy who was just 'talking'."

Suddenly Princess stood up and made her own quiet observations before she left "Look, guys, I'm not sure what's going on between you, but this needs to be worked out… now. Whatever it is can't just be allowed to fester. We would never be able to work as a team."

We both looked at her while she spoke but neither one of us really had an answer.

So she continued on in her own threatening manor "I think I should leave you guys alone, to figure this out. I'll see you both in the morning, and by that time you both had better have worked this out."

When Princess stood up she made some valid points, only I wasn't going to take my eyes off of my adversary for very long. Besides I really didn't have a clue on how to reconcile this inner war between Mark and myself. I for one was not going to lay down without a fight, and Marks recent reactions lead me to believe that he wasn't either.

As much as I had hated to see Princess leave, I knew that she was right. We couldn't go on working as a team like this when Mark and I were in a personal battle and there was definitely some things that had to be aired. Like his chumminess with a certain drunk bastard that thought he could put Prin down by saying that he was her type. That really was one of my final straws, along with his intimidation of her when he thought she was cheating on him with me. Like he has any say over her life, this is free time, not some G-Force training session. So I was full and ready when he turned back to face me.

As much as I had wanted to take a swing at him, I slammed my fist into the table instead as I clenched my teeth in anger. "See what you did!"

His brow seemed to furrow as I watched the anger return to his face. "What I did? You overstepped your bounds this time, Condor. Just what the hell were you thinking by getting cozy with Princess?"

Sometimes I thoroughly detest it when he refers to me by my battle name and this was one of them. I think he uses it to try to remind us that we aren't the commander. Well, I'm on vacation and his position doesn't hold any bounds with me out here. So I proceeded to argue with him even harder. "Last time I checked, Mark, we were off duty…or do you even know what that means?"

I could tell by the way that his eyes narrowed that he had caught the full jist of what I was saying. Still we had seemed to have caught the attention of several of the patrons so he spoke with a hushed tone. None the less he still tried to be intimidating as he stepped in closer to me. "Off duty or not, Princess is your teammate, not some chick you picked up at the bar!"

I then closed the gap between us and stared straight into his eyes. "Then what's your excuse Commander. You seem to think of her as some groupie that's only worthy of a few small tidbits that you might toss her way. At least I would be willing to show her the type of love that she deserves so much."

Marks eyes glistened in rage as he spoke " What type is that Jason, the kind that you show your groupies at the track. Now would that really be any better?"

I returned his anger with some more of my own and no intent of backing down. "Damn it, Mark, You know I don't think of her like that! At least I'm not intent on breaking her heart. I give her the attention she deserves, the attention she would get from a lot more men…if you weren't hovering over her reminding her about 'duty' all the time. You don't want her, but you won't let anyone else have her either. It's bullshit and you know it!"

Somehow I think I hit home with him because in that instant he turned his back towards me and stayed that way for awhile. So long, that I threw some money down on the table for my food, and turned to go towards the bar.

I found a table with only two chairs at it and figured that it might be the best place. After the night that I just had, I really wasn't in the mood for any company. It wasn't too much longer that Mark decided to join me. I cast a glance his way as I turned my attention back to my whiskey.

He ordered a drink for himself and we both silently sipped at our drinks, just taking in the scenery. About ten minutes later he broke the silence.

"You know you're partially right Jason."

It was a mixture of the silence being broken and the thing that I thought I heard Mark just say that had caused me to spill my drink. I jumped some as the alcohol soaked through my blue jeans.

I looked at him as though I questioned what he just plainly said. "Did I just hear you right?"

"You're right. " Mark repeated. "It's not that I don't want her. I'm just not sure how soon any of that will be able to come about. You know that Princess and I have always had a special connection. I just couldn't bring myself to take it to the next level. I mean, it just didn't seem right, me being the Commander, and all."

"So, then…why'd you come here?" I asked. We both seemed to be calming down a bit so we both sat back and continued the conversation.

"Same reason as you." He smirked at me. "Quality time with our Swan."

"Yeah, she is pretty special, isn't she?" It seemed like it was one of those rare moments that we seldom have anymore. The two of us, closer then some brothers , and bound by a war that neither of us want to spend our lives in. It was a true burden in times like this to be responsible for so much. So it didn't catch me totally off guard when he asked me the next question.

Mark picked up his glass and took a sip of what was left of his drink. " So…you have feelings for her?"

With the amount of alcohol that I had drunk so far, I leaned in closer, somehow thinking that the world was listening to my every word. Grinning I replied, "We both do. Question is…does she have feelings for either one of us after all this?"

We both chuckled at my observation.

Here we were fighting over who would get the Swan, as if she were a prize in a contest, and not even considering that she might actually have her own opinion about the situation.

Just as we were about to call it a night a now familiar face appeared in front of us. Stammering over to our table was Pete, only this time he brought along some reinforcements.

"Looky here guys, it's the gay lovers... It's a wonder that they gave up their time to spend with Patty. Seeing how 'she's' their type and all." He almost fell as he took his foot off of the ground to kick over the table. It was by mere chance that Mark and I grabbed our drinking glasses before they slid off the table.

I looked over at Mark to see what his thoughts were on a plan of attack, and without uttering a single word all had been spoken. Jumping up from the table I smashed Pete's friend in the nose, while stopping another one of his friends

attacks with my free arm.

In my peripheral vision I saw a strange looking woman running up to us flapping her hands in the air as if she could fly. Begging us to stop fighting. "Please don't fight over me, boys!" She howled. " There's enough of me to go around!"

I couldn't believe that this thing would even consider that we were fighting over her. She was so huge that there was no way that her arm flab would allow her to make it off the ground, let alone fly. Then I noticed the Adam's apple and I about lost my dinner. Oh my word what has the world come too? It was in this second that I had to return my attention back to the fight, otherwise I was going to gain some bruises of my own.

I did take notice that this time Mark showed no chumminess as he shoved Pete's head into the edge of the overturned table. Turning to the rest of his group we gave them a few moments to high tail it out of there. Which they did without another word. Pete arose from his slumped position, and mumbled something about getting revenge. Then he slowly staggered out of the place while that thing trailed behind him attempting to nurse him.

Feeling a little pumped up, we then turned to face the owners. As it turns out, Pete and his gang had been menacing many of the patrons there. So even though there were no charges pressed against us, they still asked us to leave. Mark and I dropped a couple of bucks on the counter to cover for the drinks and the mess that was created and headed out of the bar.

Upon entering the lobby area we both looked outside and saw that it was snowing. Wanting to take a few moments to cool off before bed we both headed out into the snow. It wasn't long after the first flakes hit our heads that the snowballs started to fly and we were back in time, before the war had changed our lives.

When we were soaked to the bone I finally got down to the heart of something that had been bothering me. Launching one more snowball at Mark I commented. "Man, I was glad you finally got the balls to take that Pete guy out. What was with you earlier? You acted like you were his long lost pal, or something..."

His response to my question caught me off guard. He seemed to find this to be rather hilarious and I wasn't sure why.

Finally he caught his breath long enough to explain. "I introduced him to Patricia. I met her at the bar earlier while you were out with Princess. She's a transvestite!"

I could finally put the pieces of the puzzle together and I now knew why that "thing" was so into Pete. It was then that I could join my brother in his bouts of laughter. Seeing the perfect opportunity I threw another snowball at Mark. "You moron! So that's why they were so mad!"

"Hey," he shrugged, still chuckling as snow slid out of his hair onto his face, " I thought Patty might be his type!"

Around an hour later we both were fairly worn out and practically drenched by the snow that covered our bodies. Deceiding that it was time to call it a night we actually went back inside with smiles upon our faces. It wasn't until Mark remembered that I was rooming with Prin that the tension reappeared. Only this time neither of us acted on it, we both were virtually wiped out.

Going back to the room and standing by the edge of the bed I had thought that I had heard Princess mutter something in her sleep. It could have been Mark but she laughed like she had when we were out on the snowmobiles earlier. So still not wanting to lose this battle, I used the shared room to my advantage, and I slept only in what the good lord gave me.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I was finding myself in a deep sleep. One that was filled with a dream of Princess and myself in a peaceful setting. We were on our porch and, the neighborhood was filled with the laughter of kids playing. Just as I was about to lean in and give her a kiss, I felt the sting of a blinding light burning my eyes. For an instant, I felt my body stiffen as if I had been captured by the enemy, then I relaxed as I remembered where I was and who was rooming with me.

Shielding my eyes from the strong light I mumbled to my roommate. "Turn off the light, Prin…"

With a little too much perk in her voice for my taste she replied. "I can't."

Not wanting to cause any arguments so early in the morning I tried to keep my voice as level as I could. Still I couldn't for the life of me figure out why she couldn't flip a damn switch. "Why the hell not?" I grumbled below my breath.

"It's the suns. They're both up, and you should be too." she commented in a little to smug of a voice.

Now feeling the effects of the alcohol on top of the snowball fight I now understood why that type of behavior wasn't approved for our line of duty. Would it stop me from doing it, probably not, but would it slow me up? Most unfortunately so. Grumbling and grunting as I tried to locate the nearest clock I tried to avoid the suns light. Upon finding it, the sun blinded my eyes. "Ow… what time is it, anyhow?"

Not even appearing to notice my agony, or maybe just enjoying it a little to much she replies with the same perkiness "Eight o'clock. The lifts open in an hour."

Somehow an hour didn't seem like it would be long enough to recoup from this feeling. Turning over I tried to wish it all away "Ugh… too early… let's go back to sleep…"

"You can if you want, but I want to be on the mountain when the lifts open. I'm not missing the best skiing of the day because you stayed up too late drinking at the bar."

The tone in her voice had changed from perky to a tad condescending. As I tried to turn to face her again, I groaned at the suns persistence in burning my eyes. "How did you know?"

"I know you, Jason." she said. "Sometimes, I think I know you better than anyone."

The way she said that she knew me better then anyone brought a sudden chill down my back. She spoke it as if she could see right through me and with the realization that I was totally naked below the covers only made me wonder what more she knew.

"Okay, okay, I'll get up…" I finally sat up but I allowed the sheets to fall whatever way they wanted. They only revealed the top portion or my body, but I do know that Princess didn't avert her eyes any.

It took me a few seconds of sitting upright to allow my eyes and body to adjust, but when they did it was well worth it. In front of me was a beautiful woman in a dusky lavender one-piece ski-suit. Oh man did it show all the right curves, along with bringing out the beauty in her face. I felt myself start to blush as my body responded to the sight in front of me. "Wow… Prin… When did you become a hot ski bunny?"

I couldn't tell if she notice the change in the covers on my lap as she replied with a wide grin, but I really didn't care. "When I asked the Chief to have the lab make me a ski outfit. You like?"

When she started to twirl in front of me I pictured the two of us at a fancy ball somewhere, dancing as if we were the only couple there. I felt my 'hidden' urges grow stronger as I gazed upon her with a look of lust "Definitely… Just seeing you like that makes me want to hit the slopes with you right now."

She stopped twirling and seemed to smile as she said "Well, then, you had better get ready, hadn't you?"

A few moments later she added "Jason… you and Mark… you worked out your problems last night, didn't you?"

Trying to get my mind back on the task at hand, and out of the gutter, I rubbed my face a little to hard."Yeah. We won't be arguing today. For at least the first hour or so…" I winked at her knowing that a truce couldn't last all day let alone a lifetime.

She sighed as she replied "You, men!" and then did something that totally caught me off guard. Picking up a pillow she threw it with a bit of force, at that time the war was on!

Striking back, I took the pillow that I used as a back rest, and swung it full force. That seemed to be the best hit I could get in without getting up so I grabbed her by the arm when she went for a counter-attack. I thought that I had her pinned rather well with my strength and all but she managed to slip out from under me. When she went to gain the advantage of being on top I felt her hand slide across my bare ass and lightly run across the area below my abs. It was during this time that I dropped all my guards and let myself be captured by her.

I wasn't sure if she realized what happened, or if it was the exertion of a good pillow fight that made us both lie there breathing heavy. Either way, I was happy! Looking over at her, I saw the redness of her cheeks, and sent an unspoken challenge her way.

Her eyes seemed to be searching for an answer, and it almost seemed like I had won until she tried to jump out of the bed. "Eight-thirty! Jason, we need to get downstairs if we want to have any breakfast!" Pushing herself the rest of the way up from the bed she headed towards the door.

As she reached for the door handle I bombarded her with another pillow, commenting as it struck "I know… you just don't want to admit defeat." I so wanted to stop her before she left the room. To try and make her see that there would be nothing wrong with her and I hooking up. Somehow I knew that it was her feelings for our commander that stopped her from doing what both of us know we want. How will I ever get her to see that.

She threatened me with her own pillow as she stepped out into the hallway."Stuff it, Jason! I'm going to get downstairs and grab some food. Do you think you can manage to meet me before nine am?"

"Yeah." I grinned. "I'll be there."

"I'm going to hold you to that!" she promised as she finally closed the door.

I slowly got out of bed and finished stretching my arms and legs out. I couldn't help but to wish that Princess would forget something and have to return at this moment. Seeing how that wasn't going to happen, I made my way into the bathroom and turned on the cold water. The hot water would just have to wait till the end.

Finishing with my shower I did a few extra touches to my normal routine and started towards the cafe. Upon entering I heard Princess calmly talking to Mark.

"Oh, it's not all for me." She explained. "I figured Jason would want something when he came down."

I smiled at the thought of her considering my hunger and duly noted the expression on Marks face with his comment "Oh."

I approached the table as if I hadn't even noticed the tone in Marks voice and happily replied to Princess as I snatched some food off of her plate. "You were right about that. I'm starving! Thanks Prin!"

It was then that Mark tried his best to be civil with me, guess he finally realized who actually had the upper hand the night before. "Good morning, Jason. Did you get much sleep?"

Still I couldn't help but to want to rub salt in the wound, only I tried to keep my promise to Princess. "A couple of hours. It's all I needed. Especially with this hot ski bunny waking me up."

A smile seemed to spread across her face as she giggled. "I thought we established that it was the suns that woke you up?"

It was as if the two of us were reliving the pillow fight and the conversation that had ensued afterward. It was only for a second but when our attention had returned to Mark, we could both see the frustration in his eyes.

Again Princess felt the need to intervene "Look, Mark. Jason said that you two worked out your issues last night."

He took his glare off of me for a second and turned his full attention to Princess "Yeah, we did."

"Good. Then I won't have to play referee again on the slopes this morning?" She chided him.

"No." He shot me a look that any normal person might misread but I knew it too well. This battle was far from over. "We'll behave ourselves. Won't we, Jason?"

I wanted him to know that I acknowledged his look and challange, but I also wanted to keep it from Princess. For once it seemed as if I had the winning hand and I wasn't about to lose it over more fighting. So as playfully as I could I winked at him and replied. "As far as you know…"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

We arrived at the lifts just as they were opening. I wasn't to alarmed by the fact that Mark had taken Princess' hand and went up first. I just made sure to catch the next lift chair up. Upon arriving at the top of the mountain I spotted the two overlooking the beauty of the Alps. Joining them, I stood in awe myself at something so exuberant yet so pristine from any of the decay of the modern world. It felt as though this was the way things should be, and maybe would be after the war.

I heard Princess utter the words that it was gorgeous, and I couldn't help but to lean in close and whisper "So are you."

Quickly I skied away from the pair, hoping that my words would somehow cause her to follow me, and leave Mark behind. I was a little disappointed when this didn't happen, but I somehow knew that I'd get my chance to be alone with the Swan...

So I changed my plan of attack and used this time to work on my skiing moves. It had been awhile since I had even been on skies and I for one was not into making a fool of myself.

On the first trip down I did the basic things and it appeared that I hadn't forgotten any of those moves. The second round however proved to be a little more treacherous. For it is on this round that I tried some stunts. Like going as fast as I could towards a tree and veering away at the last second. That stunt alone caused me to wind up head over heels a couple of times, only to find some pretty snowbunny helping me up. That was until her boyfriend showed up and stepped in. Hey, it wasn't as if I was after her, but I wasn't going to complain about her help either.

My next trip down the hill I worked on my backward skiing along with mixing in the rest of them. I managed to get rather good at all of them by the time that I met back up with Princess and Mark.

"Where have you guys been?" I waved to them. "I lost you on the first run and have been looking for you ever since." Okay so it was a small lie, but I would never tell either of them that I was rusty at anything... and I do mean anything.

"We've just been going down the trails." Princess smiled. "Having fun. You know… skiing."

"I see…" I replied. As I watched her smile at Mark, like they had a big secret or something. Then I noticed that their hands were linked together like they were Siamese twins or something. Something about that scene unnerved me and I just glared at Mark.

As we approached the front of the lift line I took my one opportunity. Grabbing Princess by the hand I pulled her onto the first chair with me. I glanced back just briefly to see the look of aggravation float across Marks face. Turning back towards Princess I was a little surprised to see a look of disapproval across her face.

"That wasn't very nice." she chided me as she turned back to look at Mark standing alone on the snow as we were lifted up into the air.

I found that I was getting a little miffed at her defending Mark on this, heck hadn't they just done the same to me. Still I didn't want to cause an argument between her and I so I put my arm around her and grinned as I retorted my answer. "Well, it wasn't very nice of him to monopolize your charming company all morning, now was it?"

"Lest you forget, you were the one that ran off on us." she pointed out as she snuggled closer.

I wasn't sure if the cold wind had made her move into my embrace but I certainly wasn't going to complain. I leaned in closer to her body as I spoke my words next to her ears. "Which trails did you try?"

Pointing to the section of bunny trails she replied "Those Black Diamonds, over there."

I couldn't help but to grin at our Commander's choice of trails. He was sticking to what he knew and not pushing his limits. Remembering that Princess had been into skiing before the war broke out I tried my own tactic. "Is that all? I think you need to try something more adventurous, my dear."

"Oh, really?" Her face seemed to shine brighter then the morning sun at my suggestion. Which made me one happy skier that they had went their own way this morning, because now I was prepared for the trails that I had picked.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked.

I motioned towards the terrain park. "Well, there's the half-pipe over there…"

"Uh… no." she stated firmly. "That's full of snowboarders, and I don't think they'd appreciate a couple of skiers invading their turf."

Taking plan B I made a different suggestion "Okay. Maybe, tomorrow we should try out some boarding, then."

"That's not a bad idea." she mused. "I've always wanted to try that out."

"Okay, then. It's a date." I grinned at the thought of a date with Princess. Just how could this day get any better.

"Just be sure to stay with me." she warned. "I've never been on a snowboard, and somehow, I suspect that you are an expert."

I looked at her as if I had no idea as to what she was talking about. Just because every "break" we get from being on duty I make it a habit to try and top the last big adventure. I feel as if it keeps a person on their toes and ready to handle anything that an alien force could throw their way. Mainly Spectra in case but you just never know what might creep up. Since snowboarding has been around for awhile it would only take a trip or so to get right back up to where I was when I last tried it. "What makes you say that?" I asked quizzically.

"Well, I know you, Jason, and extreme sports are right up your alley. I suspect that you'll take right to it."

There she went again, proving that she knows me better then anyone that I know. Anyone that is except for Mark, he seems to make it a part of his job to know our every thought/move. That's why it still amazes me that he's so blind to Princess' advances. Softly I reply, "I promise not to leave you behind."

She smiled as she replied and for a moment I forgot the cold surrounding us "I'll hold you to that!"

Not wanting to waste a moments time at the top I pointed out the trail marker that I wanted Princess to follow me down."Let's go over that way." So hoping that Mark didn't see which way.

"Okay." she agreed, and as she waved her ski pole at Mark to indicate which way we were going I could only wince inside. Good thing was his chair was about twenty seconds behind ours, and I don't know if he saw her or not.

When we got off of the lift I continued to pull Princess towards the path that I wanted to ski down. Plus I was hoping that her frantic waving to Mark would be unnoticed. Heck the way she was acting someone would assume that I was trying to kidnap her or something.

Urging her on, I got us started down the slope before Mark was off of his lift chair.

While we flew down the slope I watched the way her eyes lit up at the near misses that I seemed to have. Those solo trips really did help me now. For I hadn't told her that I had already been down this path the last two times. I tried to act nonchalantly as I really did about run into some of the other skiers. For they were the one thing that you can never predict.

When I did my backwards skiing is when I think I impressed her the most. It was so much fun having her here to enjoy and witness the things that I strive to perfect when I'm not on duty. So many of the times the guys think that the only thing that I'm good at outside of the team is women and racing. Truth be told I might be great at the latter of the two but the first one has been a little slow lately. Maybe my taste have changed a little too much.

As we reached the bottom of the slope I was feeling rather light hearted and was ready to take on an even bigger challenge. It was then that I noticed Princess, although here in body, was not here in mind.

"Is my company not good enough for you?" I asked her.

A little slow on her comeback she replied "Huh?"

"You keep looking around." I told her as I pretended to not notice what it was that she was looking for.

"I'm just looking for Mark." she said, "I feel terrible that we just ditched him like that."

Even though I felt a little dejected at her constant worry over Mark I still wanted to make her smile and possibly consider a few things. I leaned down to whisper in her ear to heighten the effect "Don't feel sorry for the Eagle. He's been ditching you for years. It's time he had a taste of his own medicine."

She appeared to be confounded as she turned to face me "I can't believe you just said that, Jason."

Not falling for her lecturing tone I replied as if I hadn't noticed. "But you can't deny it. Why berate me for just speaking the truth?"

I tried not to notice that Princess had seemed to go into her own thoughts, making me obsolete. What I did hope for was that she was at least seriously thinking about the points that I had just made. Feeling the cold wind start to pick up I put my arm around her and held her tightly against my body.

As we neared the end of the lift ride I noticed that my alone time with Princess would soon be over. For there standing right next to the drop was Mark, oh how I wanted to wipe the smug look upon his face.

I gave him an icy stare as I tried to sound pleasant "What are you doing here, Skip?"

"Waiting for you, of course." as he replied I noticed the Cavalier manner in which he spoke. Especially as Princess seemed to attach to his side again.

I tried to turn the attention off of Mark, but was finding it to be a losing battle."Well, here we are." Hoping to diffuse it by skiing again I asked, "Which trail did you want to use?"

"Actually," Mark replied, "I thought it might be time to grab some lunch." He pointed toward the snack bar. "I know Princess and I had a pretty exhausting morning."

Mark seemed to try to give the illusion that they had done something during the time away from me, but I knew the truth. From what Princess had told me, neither one had done so much as ski outside of the designated area. Let alone find a spot to get that comfortable in. I may not be in command, but I make it a part of my duty to be able to read others as well as Mark. He just has privy to some of the classified information that I do not.

"I'm so sorry we left without you, before, Mark." Prin said. "Going down the mountain wasn't the same without you."

Next thing I knew I heard Princess apologizing to Mark as if we did something terribly wrong and then to say it wasn't the same without him. Heck yeah, I'll give him that. It's like saying that riding in a race car with grandma driving would be the same as me driving. I make things exciting.

"That's okay, Princess." Mark replied. "It gave me a chance to enjoy the scenery." He reached for her hand, and led the way to the snack bar.

The blockheads response seemed as if he didn't even hear all of what she said, maybe he thinks that staying in the lines is a good thing. Wait this is Mark the Eagle were talking about, lines are meant for a reason. Ugh, was this going to be a long lunch!

When we entered the place I found it to be rather empty at what should be their peak time. Of course it seemed as if Mark wasn't in command mode, otherwise he may have sensed it too. Princess was the first to speak of these concerns.

"Where is everyone at?"

Trying to calm her nerves as much as my own I replied, "I don't know."

A passing busboy had caught our conversation and filled us in with the details. "It's the weather." he offered. "There's a big storm coming up, and they're recommending that everyone go back to the lodge."

Turning towards the only other person that seemed to have a grip on what was being said I asked Princess "So, do you think we should go back?"

Now she too seemed to be filled with the empty look upon her face, I was really beginning to wonder if it was the altitude that was causing these blank looks.

Finally coming back to reality she replied "Huh?"

My nerves had just about all it could take. It wasn't so bad when Mark was acting out of it but now Princess. With an important decision to make to boot. So I asked again... "Go back. Or do you want to stay out?"

"I think we can grab a quick lunch, then go back." Princess finally said.

"Alright." I found myself happy to just come to that conclusion. The choice on which slope would have to wait till later.

The three of us hastily ate some space burgers and fries. It was almost as fast as if Tiny had been here. Afterwards we made our way outside. It looked bright and sunny. The news of an impending storm seemed like it had to be a joke.

"Let's just go back this way." Mark suggested as he pointed to the easiest trail, a blue, that went straight down the mountain.

Even though I knew how fast weather could change on a mountain this high I still didn't want to waste the last run on a bunny hill. So I suggested a more interesting challenge "Are you nuts? If this is the last run of the day, we should make the most of it. Let's head over to the Double Diamond run."

"That's pretty difficult terrain, Jason, and there's no marked trail." Mark countered quicker then I expected but I returned the favor.

"So? Too difficult for you, Commander?" I taunted him because I wanted him to acknowledge the fact that I was right.

Calmly he replied "No. I just think we should get back to the lodge as quickly as possible."

Princess then added her two cents into the conversation "I agree with Mark." she said rather quickly. "Let's just get back. Who knows when this storm will hit?"

I felt a little hurt that the two teamed up againest me but on the way down I got another idea as we approached a forested area.

I grabbed Princess by the arm and brought her with me into the sea of trees.

"Jason! What are you doing?" she gasped.

"Just having a bit of fun." I replied as I grinned at her.

Looking behind us I saw the Eagle following close behind. Well at least now he might know what it's like to color outside of the lines , so to speak.

At that moment I heard a distinct sound of rumbling, coming to a quick stop Princess asked "What is that?"

Listening intently I didn't acknowledge Mark when he stopped beside us.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked enraged.

"Shh!" I replied angrily. "Don't you hear that?"

We all stood in silence for a moment, listening. The muted rumble was getting louder. We were in total agreement only it seemed as if the other two forgot that I was there.

"Avalanche!" shouted Mark.

With a quick look between the three of us, Mark spoke again "Listen to me, Princess." he spoke quickly, but firmly. "We are all going to link arms, and get out of here as quickly as possible. Don't let go. We don't want to become separated."

She nodded quickly, as Mark and I each took one of her arms as we moved off again down the mountain.

Finding our way back to the blue trail it appeared to be devoid of life. Suddenly we were the only people left on the slopes and it was at this time that I thought maybe my idea hadn't been so great.

It seemed that no matter how fast the three of us skied the rumble just kept getting louder and louder.

When it reached a deafening roar is when the three of us fell victim to the mountain's fury.

The very last sound was of Princess panicked cry for Mark... then all seemed to go to a pool of white. I vowed to do whatever it took to make sure that the Swan was brought to safety.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Digging myself out of the snow had proved to be harder then finding a needle in a haystack. The snow had compacted around our bodies like we were human snowmen. It felt as though I had snow compacted into areas of my body that I didn't even know had openings. One thing was for sure, I knew that I had to find my way out of the darkened enclosure and locate my other two comrades. I felt that Mark would have fewer problems then Princess if only because of his extra size and weight. Besides the cry that I last heard from Princess was beyond blood curdling, and somehow I knew that Mark would lay the blame on me.

Reaching the light from the sun I coughed vigorously to extract the snow from my mouth and nose. When I accomplished this, I searched over the snow covered ground to see if I could spot either Mark or Princess. When I had noticed Mark, he was already on his way to help me in the search for Princess.

Suddenly he shouted my name and pointed to a gloved hand extending beyond the snow. I rushed over to him and we quickly tried to pull her out. My mind filled with anguish and blame, as it seemed to take forever to pull her out. When we finally had her safely out of the snow, the worst had only begun. For her face had turned a light blue and her chest seemed to barely breath below her suit.

Tears began to fill my eyes as I quickly started to perform CPR. I had never really been sure if there was a higher power of some sort, but in this moment I prayed that each compression, and breath that I expelled from my lungs would be the life saving one. This too had seemed to take longer then my mind had wanted it too. Not that I would ever give up, I just was starting to loose all hope in her recovery. Mental images of funerals and cemeteries began to fill my brain when suddenly I felt the movement that I had been praying for. Her chest rose for the first time on its own. Sighing and feeling the tears flow freely down my face I turned to face Mark.

"She's going to be ok, Mark. She's breathing again."

We both seemed to be trying to find our strength to carry out the next task at hand. For it seemed that the snow had picked up to a blizzard like state and if we remained in the open we would surely be covered again.

Mark was the first to break the silence "It's getting dark. We'd better transmute and find some shelter. We must be miles away from the lodge." Coming over he picked up the still unconscious Swan and began to search for shelter, it wasn't long before I followed suit.

Again it took forever for us to find any shelter and it felt as if this nightmare was never going to end. Glancing over at Mark I noticed that he held Princess rather tightly against his chest and seemed to be speaking to her in an almost silent voice. Now some might say that it was only to keep her warm from the beating snow. I found it to be an unspoken message of him trying to keep her safely away from me, as long as he remembers whose own breath brought life back into hers.

Back into my own thoughts I kept chastising myself for possibly being the reason that we were in this situation. Then I remembered the whole day and I felt that even though it may have been the last event that caused us to be off the beaten path. It was also Marks actions that had caused me to want to take the forest in the first place. Ohh, how I knew that this would end up being an extremely long night.

I was just about to ask Mark if he needed a break from carrying Princess when I noticed a cave in the distance. I tried to shout over the high winds but it sounded muted. "Look over there!" When Mark noticed what I had seen the two of us began trudging through the deepening snow to it's entrance.

Once inside Mark finally laid a still unconscious Swan on the floor of the cave. Turning back towards me he made this command "Here, Jase, take care of Princess while I try to block the mouth of the cave. We need to keep the wind out."

Instead of trying to comment on the way that Mark delivered an obvious order I turned my full attention to my injured comrade. Looking over her body still inclosed in its snowsuit, I could find nothing out of the ordinary. Although her lack of being conscience had me a bit dumbfounded. I would have thought that the time we spent looking for this cave would have been enough of a time to recover.Looking up I see that Mark has finished blocking the entrance and is coming to check on us.

"How is she?" Mark asked while I saw his eyes fill with question.

I wanted to give him a happy report but I knew that he would be able to read what my eyes were actually saying. So I laid the truth on the line. "Still unconscious." I answered grimly. "We really need to get her to a doctor. She may have internal injuries."

I knew that this moment would come and when I finished my synopsis of her condition I saw the flash of anger fill his eyes as he responded loudly.

"What kind of paramedic are you?" Mark grumbled. "It's your fault we're in this mess! If you wouldn't have led her off the trail…"

I felt the anger from the whole days events coming back to me as I countered my attack " It's not like we could've escaped that avalanche or did you fail to realize the size of that thing!" I argued back sarcastically. "Besides, unless you have a first aid kit, and medical equipment on you I'd suggest you back off, Commander!" I arose to my feet and silently challenged him to counter attack.

He shot me his usual dirty glare but instead of countering he bent down and whispered something to Princess. It was then that he seemed to sink onto the ground and turn his attention to her.

I took this moment to find a quiet place and try to recount what had gone wrong and if there was anything that I could possibly do to help her. Finding nothing in my vast knowledge of training I took out some of my anger on the cave wall. Normally in a situation like this there was always a "bad" guy so to speak, so the focus could turn to hurting them. Now it seemed that the only one to blame was myself, and that was not a good thing. I pulled a feather shirikan out of my cape and threw it hard towards the opposite wall. When I saw that it inbedded deep into the earth, I felt a release from the blame that had been filling up inside. This time, when I pulled one out, I placed it firmly in my mouth and began to review my medical training again. Searching for any possibilities that may have been overlooked.

When thirty minutes or so had passed I glanced over to see Mark still beside Princess, with his head turned.

I walked over to his side and tried to give him the most reassuring comment that I could. "It'll be ok, Skip. Her implants will heal her and she'll be fine. You'll see." Placing my hand on his shoulder we both watched the Swan intently for any sign of improvement. It seemed that for the time being, all of our energy was focused on the Swans recovery.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Watching her lying there while the two of us could seem to do nothing to help I sat down beside her and gently pulled her upon my lap. Wrapping my wings around her I watched as Mark arose to check on the opening in the cave. I could see that he was about at his wits end and I silently prayed that she would come too soon. I covered my mouth with the tops of my wings and blew warm air on her exposed face. It wasn't long till I saw her eyelids move just a little and a soft moan escape her body.

It was then that I leaned in and whispered into her ear softly "Hey... welcome back."

I couldn't help but to smile as I saw her awake from her deep sleep. It made me realize how much joy she brings by just being alive. It was so intense that I almost didn't want her to leave the safety of my arms.

Just then Mark was by our side and she looked to both of us. "What… what happened?" she asked softly.

Marks eyes seemed to be filled with joy and relief as he responded to her. "Princess! It's great to see you awake."

She smiled but she replied weakly back to him "Mark..."

Even though I was grateful that she was alive, I couldn't help but to think of the way that I had felt less then a couple of hours ago. The thought of G-Force without her made my emotions run rampant again. So when I spoke again it was a little more harshly then I had intended. "You really frightened us, Prin."

Mark went on to explain our endeavor into this cave. "When we pulled you out of the snow you… you were unconscious. We weren't sure you were going to come out of it."

Still sounding rather weak she replied, "I'm fine… Just a little achy. It feels like I've spent an entire day fighting Spectran soldiers."

Hearing her say that she was fine and catching just a whiff of Jasmine I pulled my wings even tighter around her body. The feeling of having her on my lap was one that I felt I could endure the rest of my life. Besides I was also starting to respond to her body in ways that I hadn't paid attention to until now, and I knew that if she got up I would be found out. Still I felt the need to make Mark take notice of my position. Mischievously I reply. "I'm pretty achy myself."

Catching my double meaning Mark just shot me an evil look. I couldn't help but to smile at his discomfort. If only he knew the truth. I knew if I continued on right away Princess would see right through what was happening and then I would lose my advantage. So I quickly tried to bring the conversation back to the topic at hand."Well, we got thrown around by that avalanche pretty badly."

"Can you stand, Princess?" Mark asked her. "We need to… figure out if you've got any broken bones."

"Okay…" She agreed, shakily she pulled herself up.

If I didn't agree with Mark on his wanting to find out about Princess condition I would say that he was using it as his way to pull the upper hand. So I had helped her all I could without revealing my predicament and was happy to see her able to stand.

Shivering in the cold air she replied. "Wow! It sure is cold in here! Wings are definitely warmer!"

Seeing an opportunity to regain my advantage and to take another attack at Mark for making me lose that advantage I replied rather slyly. " Exactly what I was saying."

I could tell that Mark had heard me but he was doing his best to ignore it. Keeping his attention on Princess he suggested, "Maybe you should transmute, Princess."

"Oh… yeah… Trans… mute!" In a brief flash of light she was in her own birdstyle. "That's a little better."

She must have noticed the blocked entrance during the transmutation because right after she immediately commented. "Why is the entrance all blocked off?"

"The storm." Mark replied, "It's pretty bad, and this way most of it stays out of here."

I quickly added "Unfortunately, we couldn't find anything to start a fire with. Everything is soaked."

She continued to question us about our situation. "And how far are we from the lodge?"

"Uncertain." Mark said. "The avalanche carried us pretty far away."

"Anyhow, we didn't have much time to look, with the storm getting worse." I explained. "We had to find shelter, fast. We can try to make it back to the lodge in the morning."

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"I'm not sure… a few hours." Mark answered. "It's almost night, now."

She seemed to take a few extra moments to digest the fact that she had been out for so long, finally she seemed to relax a little and continue on with her comments. "Thanks for taking such good care of me." she said as she smiled at Mark.

For a moment I felt a stabbing pain of jealousy as I heard her shower Mark with all the praise. I'm not saying that he didn't help, or couldn't have done the job without me, but I distinctly remember that it was I who had performed the CPR and did all the initial checks. Just as I had considered saying something to the contrary Mark spoke up. "Well, actually… it was Jason who did most of that."

Smiling at me Princess replied "Thanks to you, too, Jason."

I grinned back at her as I remembered the past two days events. "I'd say… 'anytime'… but I don't want you ever doing that again, Prin. Two injuries in two days are enough for me!" I had forgotten that neither one of us had really told Mark much about or snowmobiling so it came as a surprise when he responded sounding rather annoyed and glaring at me.

"Two injuries?" Mark asked in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I fell off of my snowmobile yesterday, when Jason and I were fooling around." Princess explained. "It was nothing. My cerebonics fixed it up in no time."

"I see." said Mark. I could tell by the way his eyes looked, he wasn't happy to hear of a second injury. Especially one that had yet to be reported. I, for one, wasn't going to allow him to berate me for something that wasn't any of his concern.

Princess must have felt his disdain towards me, and thought that it was directed at her and responded accordingly. "Oh come on, Mark!" she cried, crossing her arms. "I'm not that much of a klutz! Like it's my fault that the avalanche overtook us!"

"No, Princess." Mark replied in a cold voice as his inflamed eyes still locked on mine. "It's not your fault."

"Then lay off!" she said defensively, "Not everything goes the way you plan it, you know."

I laughed inwardly as Princess berated Mark for his comments and even tried to get my own in. "That's what I always say." It wasn't more then two seconds after I said it that she turned on me.

"And you stop doing that, Jason." she said, as she whirled around to face me.

I tried to straighten up my actions but I somehow managed to screw that up and was caught red handed in my slam. "What?" I asked in surprise.

"I'm not stupid." She now began to berate me. "I know how you like to push Mark's buttons, and it's not fair, especially when he's stressed out enough as it is."

Not wanting the wrath of any woman let alone one that is capable of causing extreme damage I held my hands up in surrender "Okay… okay.You have a point and it's way too cold to argue."

She shivered rather loudly and replied, "True."

Then out of the blue Mark came up with a solution. "Maybe we should all get closer… share body heat."

Princess and I both dropped our jaw as we replied in unison "Huh?"

The idea of Mark wanting to allow anyone into his personal space seemed to be so unlike him. Then it dawned on me, his reason for the sharing of body heat was actually a chance for him to get closer to Princess. I was about to comment on that fact when he continued on with his explanation.

"It's in the Survival Handbook." Mark shrugged. "Section 31."

His nonchalant manner in which he spoke the facts was actually quite impressive. I then deceided to go with the flow of this, expecially since I would be able to snuggle up to her too. I glanced slyly at Mark to let him know that I had figured him out but I responded like I needed more facts "Uh huh…"

There seemed to be an unspoken agreement that Princess would be in the middle, so the three of us took our place along the wall and began our long wait until morning.

Princess again broke the deafening silence with her sweet voice. "So… now what?" she asked. "Do we just wait for morning?"

"Pretty much." Mark answered. "There's not much else we can do here. I think we're reasonably safe from the storm, but there's not much else we can do until the weather lets up, and it gets light again."

"Okay." she replied and then fell silent again as if trying to find something more to talk about. A little while longer she spoke up again. "I'm sorry if I scared you guys." She said. "I promise not to black out again."

"That's okay, Princess." Mark said. "I was just glad that you were with us. I hate to think of what would have happened if you had been alone."

I was glad that the days events were almost over and that all three of us were safe and dry. So without going into any long conversation I added, "I'm just glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you guys were with me too." she said, as she gave my arm a squeeze.

Then she said something that surprised me a little. "I'm scared…"

Not totally sure where that comment came from I responded a little to quick. "Don't be scared, Prin. There's nothing out there but the storm."

She answered back in a soft and tender tone. "No, silly… not of the storm. I'm scared of dying… alone."

The cave took on a loud silence as we seemed to be absorbed into our own thoughts of death and dying. The only external sound was that of the strong winds howling outside. It brought it's own eeriness to the topic at hand. I was thankful when I heard Princess break the silence.

"I'm not afraid of dying. I know it could happen anytime in our fight against Spectra. But… I don't want to be alone. If we had to die… I would want it to be together."

I heard her comment and even listened intently as Mark responded back to her. "I don't want to die alone, either." Mark admitted. "But my biggest fear is that I might let one of you die… "

I knew that we had talked about things of this caliber before but it never seemed to effect me as much. Maybe it was the fact that we almost lost Princess, or could it be that I had never spent this much down time with any of my teammates? Whatever it was I had started to see my comrades in a new light. One that brought my own feelings to the surface. Still I listened to the conversation between Mark and Princess and waited for my turn.

"You would never let one of us die, Mark." Princess protested. "We all knew what we signed up for when we joined G-Force. We've chosen this path."

How true she was on that. I may not have known at first what Anderson had wanted with me when I was a child, but when I found out that I could essentially avenge my parents' useless murder I was totally for it. Still I think it was their death that makes me feel like dying isn't the problem, it's surviving this life alone that is. With this thought in my mind I commented quietly on the conversation btween the other two. "Dying doesn't scare me at all. Even dying alone…" I continued my inner thought process. "That's nothing. But living alone… that's another thing altogether."

I felt Princess hand on my shoulder as she responded with a bit of concern. "What do you mean, Jason?"

"I mean… sometimes I hate this life. The way it separates us from everyone else. It's so… solitary." I felt some of my external barriers crash down as the pain of the path I have chosen rears it's ugly head.

Princess' words were full of compassion and understanding as she tried to reassure me, "You're not alone, Jason. I'm here with you. I'm here to live life with you. For as long as we have." Still I could not hide the tears that had formed in my eyes.

In a split second she reached out and gave me a warm embrace. It felt as reassuring as the ones that my mother had once given me in childhood. I could barely utter my words. "Thanks, Prin."

She seemed to hear the pain in my voice and reinforced her statement. "I meant it, Jase."

"And the same goes for you." she said as she turned towards Mark. "You're not letting me do anything. Whatever I do, it's because I want to follow you. Got it?"

"Yes, Princess." Mark grinned.

I wanted to return the gesture that Princess had just given me, and to let them both know that they are my family now. "I'm here for you guys too. I'll protect you, no matter what."

"I thought that was my job." Mark protested, in an amused tone.

"And here I thought you two needed me to protect you!" Princess laughed.

Even though the air outside was bitterly cold, there was so much warmth and love in that cave as the three of us laughed together. When we did calm down and sit once again in silence it wasn't long before sleep started to overtake me. It appeared that Princess felt the same way.

Mark sttod up one last time and back in his commanding voice he said. "I'm just going to take one more look outside. To make sure everything's okay."

When he left the group I asked Princess "I could use some shut-eye. How about you?"

"Yeah… I'm pretty tired." she admitted. "But the idea of sleeping on these rocks doesn't thrill me."

Using my own boyscout training to my advantage I responded "I have an idea." Gently I removed her wings and laid them down on the ground. Then just as she was starting to shiver from the cold, I pulled her down next to me and wrapped my wings around her.

As soon as I finished snuggling up with her Mark turned and again spoke in his authoritative tone. "Watch yourself, Condor!"

I mocked his tone with my reply "I'd rather watch Prin."

Mark seemed to ignore my comment and came back with another decisive remark. "As Commander, I should be sharing my wings with Princess."

"Don't worry about it, Mark." I replied. "I've got her covered, besides my wings are longer than yours anyway."

I saw him wince in the dim light and I knew that he got my understated meaning. One that I hoped Princess wouldn't catch. She seemed not to notice the reason for his distress because she smiled when she commented. "That's okay, Mark. I'm happy to share both of your wings."

Once we finally got settled down for the night I heard Princess tell Mark to slide in closer. I for one wasn't going to move away from her backside. Burying my face into the feel of her hair and neck, I drifted off fast to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

I remember waking up a few times during the night, and visibly checking our surroundings. Seeing nothing had changed, except for the temperature dropping, I wrapped my wings even tighter around my comrades in an effort to hold the heat in. After which I snuggled in closer to Princess and drift back off to sleep. So when I heard the first sounds coming from Prin, I so wanted to pull her tighter into my embrace and keep the situation the same, at least for a few more hours. Next I heard Marks voice booming across the cave, already barking orders.

"Hey, time to get up." he bellowed from across the cave.

"No…" Princess mumbled, still groggy. "Just one more minute…"

I wasn't in the mood to be taking orders so early in the morning, especially after the events of yesterday. So I tried to bury my face deep inside of Princess' hair when she must have realized who was belting out the commands and pulled away from me with lightning speed.

"Oh!" She suddenly exclaimed.

Feeling the cold drafty air against my warm, hard body. I shot Mark a look of total disgust. "Man… that's cold!"

He just stood across the cave with his arms on his hips and demanded that I arise from my current position. "Get up, Jason!" Mark ordered.

"I am up…" I commented as I deliberately gave Mark a look that said it all. If he can sleep next to a beautiful woman and not have the same problem then I think there is something definitely wrong there.

I wasn't sure if Princess had caught my full meaning but she did try to stand up for me. "Come on, Mark." She said, "It's hard to go from 'warm and cozy' to 'cold and awake' in three seconds."

I read Marks reaction carefully when I declared my situation subtly and decided to let him know that I knew he experienced the same. "Maybe we should try to make a fire now." I couldn't help but to laugh. "We've got plenty of wood…"

"You're not helping, Jason!" She waggled her finger at me in reprimand.

"Sorry…" Again I found myself grinning from ear to ear. There's just something about her that I can't help but to smile. "It's just that lying on the ground all night made me feel so stiff."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mark turning a shade of purple that would have made Zoltar himself jealous. Turning my attention towards him, it was all I could do to not start any more battles. Somehow knowing that Princess would only get more upset kept this battle quiet.

I barely heard her comments about food and when I did respond it came out as a question "Huh?"

"I'm. Hungry. Need. Food." Prin said, as she exaggerated each word.

"Want. To. Eat. MRE." she continued, pulling the food pack out of its pocket in her wings.

"Damn, I had forgotten that we had those." I commented as I stared at the small packet in my hand. "I've always been kind of scared about what kind of food they can fit in those packets."

"Well, anything sounds good right about now." Mark put in. "Thanks for reminding us, Princess."

For once I was happy to let Mark go first. I had always pictured some sort of questionable meat looking item with something green sticking to it, that was supposed to resemble peas. Somehow that did not sound like it would be appealing. I noticed that Princess also was willing to let our commander be the first. Peering over his shoulder, we both relaxed some when we saw what was on the menu. Spaghetti.

"I guess Jason's in deep trouble now!" Princess giggled. "It's still two against one!"

"Hey, at least it's Italian!" I smiled. "No steak for you two!"

The three of us sat down and began to eat our MRE with smiles upon our faces. Just goes to show what a few happy memories can do. Breaking the silence I started a new topic of conversation. "You know, Meals Ready to Eat isn't the right name for these things." I said.

"What do you mean?" Princess asked. Her curiosity seemed to spike as she took another bite.

"It's really one big lie." I explained. "It's not a Meal, it's not Ready, and I can't Eat it."

"Well, maybe MRE actually stands for Munitions Resembling Edibles." She joked.

"Or, Meals Rejected by the Enemy!" Mark chimed in.

At my teammates added comments I almost choked on my last bite of spaghetti. As it was, the sauce from the noodles dripped down my chin. We all laughed at our newfound names for the MRE's that had finally served a purpose.

Shortly after dinner, Princess stood up "I've going to head back that way." She pointed her finger deeper into the cave. "I'll be back in a minute."

Mark looked up, confused. "Why?" he asked. "Maybe we should go with you. Who knows what's back there?"

I had to shake my head at the guys obvious naive thought process when it comes to women. It's almost a shame considering he is a man of experience when it comes to so many other things.

"Uh… I'm not going too far." Prin said, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "Nature calls… you know…"

"Oh." Now it was Mark's turn to go red.

Shortly after Princess left, Mark turned to face me down again.

"What was with the comments this morning?" he scowled.

I looked up at him with my best poker face, somehow I knew this conversation hadn't ended earlier. "What comments?"

He stood up and chucked his empty MRE package against the wall. "Don't play dumb with me, Condor! What were you trying to do? Embarrass her?"

Mark walked over to the entrance and started to pull chunks of snow and ice down. At least I could put my anger to good use. I stood up and joined him.

A smirk twisted across my face as I pushed for further information. Or at least admitting to something I had guessed a long time ago. I should say a conformation of it, since he admitted it after our dinner the other night. "Are you trying to insinuate something there, Skip? Is there something I should know?"

"Morning wood…erections…you idiot! All those euphemisms…totally unnecessary!" he barked.

"Hey…" I razzed him some as I continued my torment. "…are you worried about her being embarrassed? Or was it you who was embarrassed? Cause I know that you had to make a few adjustments yourself! I saw you adjusting when you were checking out the cave entrance this morning!"

His mouth gaped open at my revelation.

I chuckled at his response and then continued. "Relax, Skip…she didn't get any of it. Our little innocent Swan is still as pure as the snow outside! But hey, she'd probably be proud that her hot bod provoked such a response from two of the most eligible bachelors in the solar system!"

He scowled again at my response and came back with his own. "Well, she had better remain pure and sweet…and I'd better not hear any more foul remarks from you Condor, or I'll…"

"Shhhh…" I motioned to Mark as Princess was entering the cave area. "Here she comes."

I was surprised to see him even take that comment so personally as he balled up a fist in response. I hadn't even meant it in the way he heard it. It was then that I knew he was taking everything I said and putting a double meaning on it. I found myself chuckling at the thought of causing so much discomfort with so little work.

When Princess returned to the cave, we were ready to begin our trip back to the lodge. Hopefully to resume a more normal atmosphere, little did I know how true that would become.

"Which way is the lodge?" She asked as she walked up beside us.

"It should be that way," Mark pointed, "based on where the avalanche deposited us yesterday."

I had to agree with that, considering Marks ability to have exceptional direction memory, kinda like me.

"Let's go, then." Prin said.

"I wish I had the G-2 here." I muttered as we began our long walk back to the lodge.

"Too bad the G-2 is back on Earth." Princess replied.

"Actually, it's back in the parking lot at the lodge." I said concretely. "Tiny left me with it when he dropped me off."

"So, could you go get it and come back to pick me up then?" she asked coyly.

"Anything for you, Princess." I grinned as I bowed down before her like a knight in shining armor but something caught my foot and brought me down like a court jester instead. I just caught a glimpse of the smirk that formed across Marks face.

Quickly he covered his amusement by asking, "What was that?"

I felt a little uncouth at my recent trip and blamed the first thing that came to mind. "I don't know… a tree root or something."

Mark and I continued our journey away from my clumsy trip but Princess seemed to question the ground around my wipe-out.

We were only a short distance away when we heard her hiss "Guys! Back here!"

We turned and were back at her side in no time. It was then that I saw it was no tree root that I had tripped on. For below us lay a green suit.

"Spectra." Mark whispered, almost under his breath. "What are they doing here?"

"I think another good question is, what is this guy doing here?" I asked after I had brushed off more snow and we saw that it was, indeed, a dead soldier.

"Do you think they have a base nearby?" Princess asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised." I said. "It's not like the Happiness Boys haven't shown up with secret bases in strange places before."I was only slightly happy that it hadn't been a tree root that I had tripped over. Because of this finding our vaction had offically ended and I for one could have found better ways of healing my ego.

"We should warn Chief Anderson." Mark suggested. His tone seemed to indicate a reluctance to being on duty again. Something I could totally understand.

Just as Mark stepped back and raised his communicator to call the Chief, he suddenly disappeared from view.

In an instant and one call of his name Princess followed suit.

There was no way that I was going to let my friends disappear that easily. So I began a careful search of the ground above, only it seemed that I wasn't careful enough, and quickly I joined them.

The three of us found ourselves on a metallic floor covered in snow, inside of a Spectran base.

The room was almost pitch black, only the light coming from the open trap door above us shown through the darkness. Also it seemed that the base was abandoned because there was no noise outside of our uniform breathing.

It wasn't long before Mark tried to place another call to the Chief, only to find that it wouldn't broadcast.

"There must be some kind of dampening field built into the walls." Princess theorized. "I couldn't hear you through my bracelet either."

"So now what?" I found myself becoming more impatient then ever, first the avalanche now being trapped in a Spectran base. Someone was sure to pay now, and he knew just the targets he was looking for.

Mark replied before I had a chance to continue my rant. "We need to find out what this base is for. I don't think they know we're here, or they would have shown up by now."

"I agree." Prin nodded. "I think our best move is to do our recon and get out as fast as possible."

"You're right, Princess." Mark said. "Let's split up. We can each take one of these corridors and be back in thirty minutes."

"Okay. See you guys then." Finally I was going to get my chance to take out some real frustration. If only I could find a whole squad. The thought of that made my heart race as I ran off into the darkness.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

I took off down the corridor, hoping to encounter something that would lead me to the heart of this base. All I seemed to find was more and more corridors. Suddenly I came upon a door that was ajar. Making sure my gun was ready, I pulled out a few feather shuriken and clenched them between my teeth. Slowly opening the door, I saw three goons standing next to a computer console. They barely knew what hit them as three feather shuriken pierced their necks. Falling to the ground they cried out in pain and I watched as they consumed their last breath.

Making my way to the console I could make out the images of my fellow companions. At least I knew they were alright. I had to laugh at the three lying still on the ground beside me. If only they were smart enough to have checked all the hallways, maybe then they wouldn't have reached death at my hands.

Noticing the time, I started to make my way back to the rendezvous point. On my way back I did notice two more doors, upon investigating them I found one to be a broom closet and the other was a bathroom. Again the guy in the bathroom, didn't have much time to respond before a fourth feather found it's deadly mark.

I moved swiftly now since I knew I would be running late, and who knows what kind of things my companions had run into. Although on the screen it had appeared that the two of them were together.

When I arrived and found that no one was there, my senses became heightened. I quickly tried to bring up the image that I saw on the screen, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. I then began to pace as I tried to figure out if I should go looking for them. Suddenly Princess appeared out of one of the corridors.

"Prin!" I exclaimed, looking at her. "Where have you been? You're late!"

"I'm sorry…" she muttered. "Actually… I'm not sure what happened…"

I kept wondering where Mark was and why was he not with Princess. I knew I had seen them on the monitor together, could this be a Spectran trap?

Speaking out loud to her I replied grimly. "Mark's not here either. It's not like him to be late. He's got to be in some kind of trouble."

"Should we go find him?" she asked, hesitantly. Her eyes seemed to be filled with pain at the thought of something bad happening to him.

I just nodded to her, something didn't seem to be adding up. Finally I replied verbally. "I think that's our best option. If he's in trouble, he needs us."

"Let's go that way." Prin suggested, pointing at a corridor. "I think it leads to the main control room of this place."

I turned to her, and with a surprised look asked. "How would you know that?"

"This place has a standard layout." she shrugged. "It was in the Spectran intel reports last week. Didn't you read them?"

Something still was not adding up right, but I had to admit that I don't really go over all the intel reports that they give us. Usually I thumb through them looking for anything that catches my eye. If nothing does they get filled away in my own file thirteen, because I would be in big trouble to actually throw them out. Laughing at my own nonchalant attitude towards anything intel I replied back to her.

"No." he replied. "I never read those things. Thank God, you're here, Prin." I looked at her fixedly, putting my hands upon her shoulders.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Prin." I admitted. "When you didn't come back either, I had this gut feeling that something terrible had happened to you."

"I'm fine." she smiled softly at me.

I so wanted to believe her, to tell her everything that had been building up in me. I knew that it had grown stronger since this vacation had began, but her late return on this mission had me scared that one day she wouldn't return. Then what would I do. Could I live with the thought of never actually telling her how I felt?

I dismissed the thought of the view screen showing the two of them together. Either it was a trap or maybe there was just way to much white on the screen with Marks suit and all, anyway you looked at it, I was with Prin now and it was about time that we found Mark and blow up this joint.

"Prin?" I asked, concerned. She seemed to be lost into deep thoughts of her own. "Can you show me the way?"

"Anything for you, Jason." giving me a seductive look she smiled. "Just follow me."

She started to swish her hips, and beckoned me down the hallway. In an instant, I was at her side.

"What's gotten into you, Prin?" I whispered alluringly into her ear. "Not that I'm complaining…"

"I just…" She stopped walking and turned to look at me for a moment, "I think I'm seeing things more clearly, now."

Enjoying her attention but not wanting to take things for granted I asked, "What do you mean, Prin? What do you see more clearly?"

Seductively she purred "Jason… I'm really glad that you came on this ski trip. It wouldn't have been nearly as much fun, without you." She finished, as she closed the gap inbetween us.

As much as I wanted to find out just how far things could go, I knew that anything that happened between us would start a war bigger then the one we have with Spectra now. Still I needed to find out where all of these hidden emotions were coming from. I for one wasn't going to be cold to her, if that is really what her heart wants.

So I asked my first question as bluntly as I could. "What about Mark?"

"Mark's… nice…" she replied coyly, "But I think I prefer… naughty…"

When she touched her gloved finger to my jaw, and then slowly trailed it down to my chin, and back up to my lips. I felt the heat begin to rise inside of my body. I wanted it to continue, but I couldn't without some clarification. Like maybe her being bold and brave like this in front of Mark.

I caught her wrist in the hope of cooling things down for now. Plus I had to be straight forward with her about some things."I don't like games, Prin."

"I'm not playing games, Jase." she said, just as seriously as I had. "I've made my choice."

I felt my tension relax and I almost forgot about the reason why we were there. Softly I spoke to her. "You don't know what this means to me, Prin…"

"Actually, I think I do…" She breathed.

I moved in ready to claim her mouth as mine when the reality of it all came flooding back to me."Damn visors…" I said grinning. "And I don't think we should be taking them off." I commented as I looked at all of the Spectran architecture around us.

"Just wait until we get back to the lodge…" She whispered provocatively. "No helmets there…"

The tightness from earlier had reappeared in all it's glory as I smiled at my Swan wickedly "I'm going to hold you to that."

"I'm counting on it." She winked.

As we crept down the dim corridors, I practically forgot all about the monitor screen that those goons had been looking at. I just knew that we needed to find Mark and make it out so I could begin my life with her.

After a few minutes, we came to a closed door. "This is it." Prin said. "The control room should be right behind this door."

I walked to one side of the doorway and tested it. It was locked.

"Alright." I said to Prin. "Set a small charge. We don't want the Happiness Boys to know we're here."

She nodded, working quickly. With almost no sound, and only a thin whisper of smoke upon detonation she did her job beautifully.

"Great work, Prin." I grinned at her as we stood on either side of the doorway.

Silently I counted with my fingers. 1… 2… 3…

On three, I kicked open the door and we burst into the room. Hoping to find more Spectran scum to take out my frustrations on.

The room was large, and nearly empty. Instead of being a control room, it appeared to be some kind of warehouse. A few crates and supplies occupied the corners. Another doorway lay across the room from where we stood. I must say that I was a little let down that there was no one here to battle.

Instead I started to reach for one of the crates. "Well, this sure isn't a control room." I said, "But it seems that Spectra was using it for something. Why don't we take a look and see what's in these crates?"

Just as I was about to open the first one Prin yelled a warning. "Stop! This isn't right! It's a trap!"

I turned to look at her quizzically. My thoughts were being flooded by the images that I so tried to push out of them. "How could you know that?" I asked.

Before she could answer, hidden openings appeared in the walls and hordes of green-suited Spectran goons began to fill the room.

"Surrender, G-Force!" one of the Spectran soldiers cried, "We have you surrounded!"

I finally had my chance to exact revenge on these goons for ruining my pleasent vaction and I had no reservations about any of them. Doing my best to take out as many as I could I kept my eye on Prin. Something still was not adding up and her yo-yo wasn't being used much. Whatever the reason was I knew we needed to do something fast otherwise we would both parish to these half-wits.

I looked towards Prin and she seemed to instinctively know exactly what I was thinking. She lightly jumped onto my shoulders, and the two of us began to spin.

We whirled faster and faster, until the force of our Whirlwind Pyramid forced the goons back against the walls, screaming with the agony of having their bones break upon impact.

After a few moments we dropped out of the tornado, and began dispatching the remaining goons.

"Time to hit the road!" I yelled, pointing my thumb at the other doorway.

Quickly, Prin ran over as I fought off the soldiers who were beginning to recover from being the victim of the Whirlwind Pyramid.

This time she didn't worry about making a small charge, and within seconds she had set the explosive. It detonated with a satisfying boom.

The door swung open, just as I came running towards her. We pulled handfuls of mini-grenades out of our belt pouches and threw them behind us as we ran out of the room.

As the sounds of multiple explosions and screams came out of the room, I couldn't help but to feel some gratification. I stopped long enough to make sure that none of the goons followed us out, and when that didn't happen we resumed our search.

I heard Princess sigh with relief but it only lasted a few seconds."Uh… Jase…" she tugged on my wings.

I finally turned my attention from the door to what it was that made Princess gasp. Upon seeing it myself, I couldn't believe that there was not one but many Zoltars looking back at us.

My jaw dropped as I replied in utter awe. "How many are there?"

Princess was taking a quick inventory and my mind raced with the thoughts that we had just stepped into another dimension. It wasn't long before her voice broke the silence.

"One hundred and thirteen." she reported.

"Are they alive?" I asked, curiously running my hands over one of the tubes. The Zoltar inside stared straight ahead, unmoving. The thoughts of this many in one room, filled my mind with many questions about Spectra's intelligence and our ability to defeat them. One thing was for sure we needed to get on the ball at the ISO to compete with this magnitude.

"I think so…" Prin replied. "They seem to be in some kind of stasis."

"Multiple Zoltars…" I couldn't help but to think of what that meant. It almost says that we are powerful enough to do away with the Spectran army, all we had to do was defeat this base. "Do you think? Yes… that has to be it!"

"What?" Princess asked, not being able to follow my train of thought.

"Don't you see?" I exclaimed excitedly, "I've always known, deep down, that Zoltar isn't that good. He can't always keep escaping us! I think… sometimes… he doesn't escape. Sometimes… he blows up with his mecha."

"So then, that would mean…" she looked at me like she finally caught the depth of what I was saying.

"That these are replacement Zoltars." I burst out triumphantly.

"No wonder they hid this base on Frozatica!" Prin said wide eyed, "The year-round temperatures below freezing must help keep these Zoltars in stasis."

I nodded to her, but one question remained lodged in my brain. Taking a moment to try and find an answer I finally turned to her and said"But the question is, how are they making these replacement Zoltars?"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

As we were searching the room looking for the answer to my open ended question, there was an audible gasp from across the room. I motioned for Princess to stay behind the glass tubes, and armed myself with many feather shuriken. I figured that the silence of them compared to my gun would take out many before anyone would know what hit them.

Flying between two glass chambers, I was startled to see Mark armed, and ready for action. He seemed to feel the same way as he folded up his birdrang and spoke with a sound of relief in his voice. "Jason! I'm glad we've found you! Princess said something about a bunch of dead goons…"

"They weren't that much trouble." I confessed, "Only about five hundred or so. Where have you been? You didn't make the rendezvous!" It never occurred to me that Princess would have had no way to tell Mark about our little battle.

Turning towards Princess I motioned to her that it was all clear. She ran up to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. I couldn't help the smile that formed across my face as I turned to the Eagle. "Look who I found… Princess!"

I saw Marks face turn to an ash white as his eyes couldn't seem to relay to his mind that she was with me. I was just about to give him some encouraging thoughts when I heard a small cough.

Suddenly a second Swan appeared in the room and all eyes turned towards her in question. Gasping beside me, my girl broke the dead silence. "No… it can't be… Somehow they've cloned me too!"

"No one can replace you, Prin." I tried to say as reassuringly as I could.

Giving her a squeeze, I looked around the room, and felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise up. Somehow, I couldn't get rid of the thought of all these Zoltar clones in tubes. If they could find a way to replicate something that evil, then there really was no way of telling what the truth was with this new predicament

"She just looks like you." I said to the beautiful Swan on my arm. I cast a heavy look towards the second Swan standing by Mark. If only she wouldn't be here, then my world wouldn't feel like it was teetering on the edge of a cliff right now. One thing was for sure, the female in my grasp had helped me escape a massive battle, and for that she wasn't going anywhere fast.

Mark finally broke his stunned silence and asked the question that seemed to hover in the air above us. "Which one of you is the real Swan?" he asked nervously.

"I am, of course, Mark!" the other Swan answered hotly, just as Princess answered, "Well, of course, it's me!"

I pulled back just a little from my partner and searched her eyes for some kind of answer. Then turning my attention to the other Princess, I found her starting to head over to us. My head seemed to spin as I tried to figure out some way of finding out the answer to the questions burning inside. I had to know if it really was Princess that had proclaimed her love for me at the rendezvous point.

Placing her hand on my girls shoulder the second Prin said quietly. "I'm sorry, but I'm the real Swan. You're actually my second duplicate."

I felt her body start to tremble as she wrestled with the words that had just been spoken to her. "No!" she declared. "I know I'm real! I remember! I remember my childhood, at the orphanage, and meeting Chief Anderson for the first time, and going on this ski trip…" A tear rolled down her cheek. "I've got to be real…"

Hearing her speak of things that only our Princess could remember, I pulled her deeper into my embrace and tried to absorb the pain that seemed to be flooding her body. Inwardly, I didn't care who she was, she belonged to me, and anyone that caused her this much pain would face the Condors wrath.

"How dare you try to pull this mental crap on her!" I spat at this 'second' Princess "It's just another one of Zoltar's filthy tricks!"

She seemed to take a few steps back and waited just a brief moment before continuing her quest to talk to my Princess. "The reason you remember those things, is because I remember those things." she explained. "Zoltar made you just like me, with a couple of personality modifications, and a subliminal suggestion to capture the Condor."

Upon hearing the words capture the Condor, I couldn't stop the feelings of doubt that I had when I had joined back up with Princess, still I couldn't forget her standing by my side in battle either. "She didn't 'capture' me!" I growled as I fought the battle raging in my head, "She helped me fight off those goons!"

"And you wouldn't believe how pissed off Zoltar was!" said Marks Princess giggling. "He couldn't believe that both of his Swan duplicates had betrayed him. She wasn't supposed to help you with that Whirlwind Pyramid, Jason."

My thoughts of tumult were beginning to show through on my hardened exterior. Still feeling the shakiness of the Swan beside me I knew that I needed to stand strong for both of us.

Mark approached his Princess, and placed a hand on her arm. "Can you prove that you're the real Swan, Princess?"

Pausing for a moment she finally replied quietly. "Yes." approaching the trembling woman in my arms she tried to advert her attention to her arms.

"Look at my arm." She held out her arm and pointed to three raised bumps. "I have three wounds here: one from being sedated, and two from having blood drawn… to make duplicates."

I felt her draw strength from me as her eyes flashed defiantly towards the other Swan.

Not giving in to her silent challenges Marks Princess continued her examples. "Your yo-yo won't work, and you can't de-transmute either. Zoltar's scientist wasn't able to replicate our technology."

Pulling away from me with a venomous speed she spat at her apparent twin. " You lie!" Just as she expertly unsheathed her yo-yo and threw it toward the nearest Zoltar tube.

It made a powerful sound, but the damage was only cracked glass.

I saw her newfound strength begin to fall away from her as Princess reached out to embrace her.

"I'm sorry…" Princess muttered.

She seemed to be enlightened by this recent turn of events but the tears still formed in her eyes. Facing the real Princess she stated "I… I'm… not… you…"

"I know…" Princess said reassuringly, "But that doesn't mean that you're not a real person. Whatever you are, you're a human being."

"And a darn good G-Force member at that." I added, as I gently turned the other Swan's face around to look at me.

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have escaped all of those goons." I said as I wiped away the tears that had begun to flow down her face. "A one person Whirlwind wouldn't have been enough."

She nodded, the tears still sliding down her face.

"I'd do anything for you, Jase." she whispered to me.

"I know that." I replied. I tried to show her just how much I appreciated her being at my side so I bent my head and touched foreheads with her through our helmets.

Next Princess spoke up like she was reading my thoughts. "We can't leave her here, Commander."

"I agree." Mark concurred. "We're all getting out of here, but not before we destroy all of these Zoltars."

"I'm with you." I replied grimly, never wanting to take my eyes off of my Swan.

A quick confirmation and Princess had a few charges set with a timer.

"How about ten minutes?" she asked. "I presume that's enough?"

"It should be." I replied. "My Swan can lead us out of here in five, can't you, Prin?"

"Yes..." the other Swan said, wiping her face with her glove. "I'll get you all out of here."

"Then let's go." Mark ordered.

The three of us quickly followed the other Swan out of the chamber.

She led us straight down the path of destruction that she and I had created together. I smiled as I thought about her and I as a team. Somehow it felt so right.

Once we were back in the hallway I made my way back to Princess to try and explain my actions.

"I'm sorry…" I apologized. "For thinking that…" I didn't even have a chance to get my words out when she cut me short.

"It's okay, Jason." she replied. "I probably would have doubted you if two Condors had shown up."

"Thanks." I mumbled as I shuddered at the thought of two Condors in one room.

"I think it says a lot, that you're supporting her this way." Prin said softly. "I really respect that, Jase."

I honestly didn't know what to say to that. If she only knew some of the thoughts that had went through my mind when 'she' or whoever she was declared her love for me. I know that things would have been rough for Mark and I but now I have my own Princess. I silently nodded towards Princess and quickly returned to the side of my Swan.

The voyage through the rest of the corridors was rather uneventful, so I spent the time in quiet thought of my new chance on life. Finally I wouldn't have to dread going through this world alone. Maybe when Princess had first told me that she would always be there for me, she had somehow seen how this trip would end. Either way I was on top of the world right now, so it caught me by total surprise when we reached our exit point and my Swan turned to us and said...

"This is where I leave you all." she spoke it with such quiet resolution that I grasped her arm firmly.

"No." I adamantly stated. "You're coming with us."

" No, Jason." she replied, gently removing my hand from her glove. "Someone has to destroy Zoltar's cloning machine. It's his only one, and all of the data is here as well. If I can set a high level charge in there, we can be sure that he'll never use this technology again."

I stood there listening to the words that were coming out of her, but none of it was sinking in. All I could think about was how great my world was only a few moments ago, and how quickly the floor seemed to drop out of it. I began to hear Marks words, and something about the way in which he spoke them made me want to fill him with feather shurikens.

"That's a worthy goal," Mark said, "But do you have enough time before Princess' charge goes off?"

"I'll have to." she said, before turning and flying off down the hallway.

When I saw her turn, and dash back down the hallway in which we just came from, I instantly felt the need to make sure she escaped unharmed. I only made a few steps when I was blocked by Mark.

"You can't, Jason." he ordered, "Let her go. She knows what needs to be done, and we need to get out of here."

His blockage and last order had been the final straw. I whirled around to face his poor judgment with an enraged fury. "And she doesn't? Just because you have your Prin, everything's okay, then, isn't it?"

He must have been ready for my challenge because he stood as stoically as if I were the enemy. Eyes or body never flinched as he gave his next order.

"We're leaving, now." he barked. "That's an order."

I so wanted to send him flying into the wall but decided that it could happen on another day. Instead I mocked him with a flourishing bow and quickly leapt out of the base onto the snow.

A minute later the three of us were running like hell when a giant explosion rocked the forest. I fell to my knees, cold snow cooling down the heated tears that had begun to flow. I turned just in time to see a giant fireball scorch the sky. Leaving behind a massive crater full of blackened, charred debris.

The anguish that ripped through my heart in that moment was so overpowering that the only relief I seemed to feel was screaming out in sheer pain. "Princess!"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

As my screams rang out amongst the smoldering ruins, I felt my legs begin to slowly melt beneath me. The weight of this final burden on my soul had taken the last of my reserved strength. I could feel the wetness of my tears as they tried to cool my doleful face. Even the cold of the snow was at a loss to the pain that burned through my very being. As I contemplated yet another death, an amiable face appeared beside my frazzled body. Princess then wrapped her arms around me, and placed her head upon my shoulder blades in an effort to calm my grief.

I took a deep breath, and attempted to voice some of the questions that demanded to be heard. Slowly, I found the strength to do so.

As I turned to face Princess, I searched her eyes for the answers to the questions that I now voiced. "Why? Why, Prin?"

She seemed to search for the answer inside of herself. Momentarily, she began. "She knew that she had to complete her mission…"

"No." I interrupted her, a little more harshly then I had wanted to. "I mean you."

Her eyes seemed to take on a look of bewilderment, so I continued on in a humble tone. "Why couldn't it have been you who wanted me? All I ever wanted was to be with you, but you never wanted me… it's always been Mark… Is it because he's the Commander, and I'm just 'Number 2?"

When she fell into an utter silence the tears began to cascade down my face. Still I needed to know the answer. "Why, Prin?" I demanded.

Her only reply was a mumbled one before Mark shouted out a warning.

I turned my attention to the cause of his alert, and in an instant I was on my feet and running.

The ground was still smoldering near the area that had once been the Spectran base. Still, the slight movement that I had seen, made me feel as if their would be a possibility of a survivor. Finding myself at the location of said movement, I began to dig through the searing hot debris. Suddenly I spotted the familiar white of the Swans uniform. Shouting, I quickly helped my Swan rise up like a Phoenix from the ashes.

Without a seconds thought, I grabbed her, and pulled her into my embrace. Relishing the feel of her body close to mine, I couldn't help but to run my hands over her painfully burned body. When she flinched just a little as I reached a bare spot on her arm, I stopped abruptly not wanting to cause her any pain. Instead I buried my face into the crevice of her neck and whispered to her how much I loved her. I barely heard my companions when they mentioned heading back to the lodge.

The sun was close to setting before we made it back to the lodge, and the skiers had all seemed to have retired to their cozy rooms. This made for an easy de-transmutation at the crest of the skiing area. With the cloned Swan not having the ability, Mark and I kept watch as Princess returned to her room to acquire a change of clothes for her.

When Princess returned, she apologized for the striped jeans, and number three shirt that she handed her. "I don't have a lot of extra clothes."

"That's okay." my Swan smiled. "I'm used to these. And what else were you going to bring out: the slipdress?"

I shot Mark a quick look when that comment was made, but he seemed to be totally unaware of my thought process.

Next thing I knew, my Swan was asking Princess assistance in our departure.

With little more then a wink Princess replied. "Sure thing..."

Mark seemed to chuckle as he elbowed me, "I think that's our cue to leave…"

"Aw, man, Things were just about to get interesting!" I quipped as I reluctantly turned to follow. It wasn't long before the two of us were entering the lobby area. With the fireplace burning brightly, I gladly took a place on the couch.

Arms propped behind my head, I spoke as quietly as I could, so the other patrons could not hear. "Well, Skip, another case solved by G Force…"

"Yeah," he readily agreed. "And another Swan enters the picture. How are we gonna tell them apart?"

"Oh, I can tell the difference." I snickered as I saw Marks eyebrow raise at my comment. "My Swan is much cuter, and way more outgoing."

"Yeah, right. You're just saying that because she happens to have the hots for you." he chuckled as he leaned back into the soft cushion on the couch.

He paused for a moment before continuing "I've just been relying on the way Princess reacts to me…" he admitted. "It's a little scary, having two of them now. Know what I mean?"

I couldn't help but to smile at the way that Mark seemed to be confused. I for one, knew that I could tell the difference from this day on. "We'll manage…" I knowingly winked at him.

Quickly Mark replied. "Oh, by the way, I made a report to the Chief earlier. He said we could stay here a little longer, since we didn't have much of a vacation. You know? He doesn't know there are two Swans now. I better let him know."

I couldn't believe my ears, there was no way I was going to let anyone ruin my chances of being with the Swan. So as he raised his communicator to his lips I stopped him momentarily. "What's the big emergency? Besides, it could be fun playing tricks on the old guy. We could really yank his chain!" I had to crack up at the thought of a thoroughly befuddled Anderson.

Even though Mark seemed to be amused at the fun we could have, the Eagle in him took over. "No, I need to tell him. This is really important."

He left the couch to relay the message to our superior and returned a few moments later. "He says he wants to see…Princess…uh…the clone…tomorrow. He needs to run some tests."

Somehow I knew that the return message would be bad. "You mean MY SWAN…" I retorted rather loudly. "This sucks! Well, I'm going with her. No way is the Chief going to treat her like some guinea pig with me there. So now we only have one night together? Better make it count…" I began to smirk.

Shortly after I had spoke the girls entered the lobby. Quietly, I whispered to Mark. "I know what I'm going to be doing for the rest of this trip."

I leapt up from the couch, and grabbed my Swan by the hand. Practically flying down the hallway towards the room I savored the thoughts of what was to come.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

When the two of us entered the room, I wasted no time in beginning a thorough examination of her wounds. Her flinch had spoke louder then any words ever could have.

After I had inspected all of the visual skin, I turned to her and asked. " Would you be upset if I removed your top?"

I could tell that she had been enjoying all of the close contact, and with my question her eyes lit up with a look of mischief. " I thought you'd never ask. "

My own body responded to her playfulness, and I could feel the pressure growing in my already tight pants. Still, I wanted to do an honest exam before I let my needs take over. Gently I grabbed both sides of her shirt and began to slip it up over her head.

As I went to drop the shirt off to the side, she grabbed my body, and pulled it up against hers. Breathing huskily she demanded my touch. " I've tried to tell you that I'm okay. What I really need to finish off this night is your body wrapped around mine."

Her comment seemed to catch me off guard. Still I had wanted her in a most animalistic way. I grabbed her by her arms, and claimed her lips like I was on my last breath of life.

She clung to me even tighter and pulled our bodies down upon the bed. It appeared to be the exact same spot that Prin and my wrestling match took place earlier. She grinned at the acknowledgement in my eyes and breathed heavy upon me. "You forget Jason. Her and I are essentially the same person. At least up until the time that I was created. I know all of her dirty secrets, and your wicked past."

With that she purred as she claimed my belt in her hands, and quickly loosened them up.

When I tried to bring my hands down to my pants to help, she gave me a throaty growl and said. " No Condor, it's time that you see what it's like to be taken advantage of."

Even though I was not totally sure what all she had in mind, I couldn't wait to find out. With my hands placed behind my head I found myself allowing, and concentrating on the beautiful figure leaning over me.

With a slight struggle, and a raising of my pelvic area, my pants fell to the floor next to her shirt. She ran her hands ever so lightly over my abs and chest. With a devilish grin, she moved her hand under my boxers and seized my manhood.

The act almost made me lose any self control I had. Still I managed because I so wanted to make this a night to remember.

I watched her smirk at my near release, and she seemed to make it her personal quest to break it. After she stroked and played with my swollen member, she ran her hands expertly up and over my pecs.

Leaning down, she claimed my mouth in an act of total control. It was then that I turned the tables on her.

Using my body weight and upper strength I overtook her authoritative spot. Now it was time for her to see just what she was in for.

When I began my pursuit of removing her stripped jeans I failed to notice the look of uncertainty in her eyes. It was only when I reached up for the prize goal of her silk undies that it became apparent.

" Okay, what's wrong? One second you're attacking me like there's no tomorrow, and when I return it you have a look of fear. Is there something hurt or is it something more?"

The look that showed in her deep green eyes gave me all the answers I needed. Still I waited for her actual reply.

"I wouldn't say that there's anything wrong and, it's not that I don't want to be here with you. I'm still fairly new to all of this, and it's much easier when I'm in control of the speed to handle it. I hope you understand!" She turned her head to the right in hopes that I wouldn't see the lone tear roll down her face.

I reached down to her tear and wiped it gently with the back of my hand. Then I cupped her chin, and turned it back towards me. When our eyes finally met I softly spoke. "I totally understand. I would hate to have anything come between us, especially on the first night. I want you to know that you are free to stop our encounter any time you wish. I must make this one request though before we continue."

She had relaxed a little when I agreed to her conditions, but I felt her muscles tense under my hand when I spoke of a request. Still she continued on." What might that request be?"

Gently lifting her body into a seated position, I wrapped my arms around her in a tight embrace. Again I found her eyes locked with mine. As I spoke the words, I couldn't help but to chuckle. " What I ask of you is simple, and that is your name. I wouldn't want to put you through so many changes without at least knowing what your name is."

She smiled, as she pressed her body into the frame of mine. " Well the name that Princess and I have come up with is Aggie. "

" Then Aggie it shall be, I hope you have no objections to this..." In no time at all, I cleared the distance, and consumed her mouth with mine.

I had little problems with letting Aggie take the lead. She seemed to explore every possible inch of my body. I, in turn, covered her with many kisses, but kept my explorations well within a safe standard, until she finally could take no more.

" Jason," She cried feverishly. "I want you! I really feel the urge to have you in total mind body and soul. "

With that she eagerly helped me remove her final clothing and the two of us became one.

The rhythm began as a slow and steady but it wasn't long before she moaned and demanded a faster pace. Once that started, it was only a minute or two before we both succumbed to a multitude of orgasms.

Both of us, relaxed from the release of emotions, lying together in the aftermath of what had been my most perfect night. I prayed that it would only be the beginning of more to come.

In what only felt like five minutes had actually turned into six hours. Lazily and unwillingly, I reached for my communicator and answered the never ending page of the chief.


	16. Epilogue

Epilogue

As we boarded the train back to base, the two of us turned to wave goodbye at our fellow companions. I could tell by the way they stood ever so close, that their night had been just as miraculous as ours had been. I was only a little upset that I wouldn't be finishing my stay here in the mountains.

After the night that I had just had with my Swan, I knew then that there wasn't any way I was going to let her face those scientist alone. Heck Zark would be bad enough, but all those strangers wanting to poke and prod her, no that was my job now.

I knew the Chief was going to go on some type of tangent about Mark and I both hooking up with the Swans, but what he will have failed to see is. Neither one of us was going to be left out in the cold. For we each had our own to curl up with, yeah I know that my Swan may not be the "real" one. Still I have the advantage that she was custom built for me, with Princess true feeling for me in there.

One thing I will never mention to Mark is, the reason that the Chief seemed to have such a hard time about not letting him date the Swan, was not due to his lack of better judgement in battle. It was because the Chief had seen from early on the battles that would engulf Mark with me as we both went after our prize. Who would have ever thought that Spectra could have a hand in keeping peace amongst their greatest enemy... I for one will never tell...


End file.
